The Arrangement
by Grace James
Summary: James Potter never married Lily Evans. Who is Cale Snape and what does he have to do with James Potter and Draco Malfoy. SLASH AU Mentions of MPREG
1. Default Chapter

**The Arrangement**

**Disclaimer:**All characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I'm just having a little fun with them.

**Summery:** James Potter never married Lily Evans. Who is Cale Snape and what does have to do with James Potter and Draco Malfoy? Does Harry Potter still exist?

**A/N:**This is completely AU. However there are spoilers for Book 1 and Book 3. This story will be SLASH. There will also be mentions of MPREG, though it is not descriptive. Story is PG-13 for now. Rating may change later as this is a WIP. This will eventually be HP/DM.

_**Prologue**_

James Potter made his way out of Hogwarts castle under his invisibility cloak. He was glad the full moon wasn't for another week. Despite this fact he was headed for the Whomping Willow and the passage to the Shrieking Shack.

It was the night before his and his love's graduation from Hogwarts and he had something he had to do. He did not want to be separated from the one he loved and was preparing to make it known to his one true love-his soulmate.

As soon as he was in the passage under the willow he took off the cloak and began to run to the shack. A few minutes later he reached the entrance and stopped to catch his breath. He slowly opened the door and made his way up the stairs. When he reached the top he made his way to the room Remus often slept in the day after the full moon.

When James entered the room he saw Severus Snape and both men's faces lit up with smiles. The gap between them was quickly closed. They wrapped each other tightly in their arms and stayed that way for several minutes.

James slowly pulled out of the embrace to look into Severus' eyes. James took a hold of Sev's hands and led him over to the bed in the middle of the room. Once Sev was sitting on the edge of the bed James dropped to one knee and pulled a small velvet box out of his pocket.

"Sev, I love you so much. I'm tired of sneaking around with you. I want the whole world to know that we are together. Would you do me the honor of bonding with me so I can show the whole world who I belong to?"

Severus just sat there looking at James for several minutes. James was beginning to think Sev was going to turn him down when Severus finally spoke.

"Are you sure about this James? You know how Headmaster Dumbledore feels about two wizards bonding."

"What can the headmaster possibly do to us? We're graduating in the morning. He can't stop us from spending the rest of our lives together." James said soothingly, hoping Severus would say yes.

"Oh, James. I would love to bond with you and spend the rest of my life with you." James slipped a plain gold band onto Severus' hand and then leaned forward to kiss him. Sev had just made him the happiest man on earth.


	2. The Malfoys

**Disclaimer:**Once again I do not own any of these characters. They all belong to J.K. Rowling.

**A/N:**Again this will be a slash story between several characters. One other thing I should add here. If you are a fan of Dumbledore this is not a fic for you. He is not a good guy in this story.

**Chapter 1- The Malfoys**

"Cale! Cassidy! Hurry up! The Malfoy's will be here any minute!" James Snape yelled up the stairs to his son and daughter. It was the night before Cale and Draco Malfoy were due to start Hogwarts and the Snape's had invited the Malfoy's over for dinner to celebrate.

James and his husband Severus had graduated 12 years ago and were preparing to go back and teach this year. Draco's father, Lucius, was also going to teach while his wife would be staying in a house in Hogsmeade to take care of Cassidy and the Malfoy's younger son, Thomas.

"Coming dad." James heard Cale holler back down the stairs before he heard two pairs of feet running down the stairs. Cale was a little taller than most boys his age, standing at 5'1". He was wearing light blue colored robes that matched his eyes almost perfectly. He had thankfully inherited James' long straight nose and Severus' easily manageable hair. James' hair was very unruly and looked as if he never brushed it.

Cassidy stood about 3'7" and had dark brown eyes. She too had inherited James' nose, however she also inherited James' hair that just absolutely refused to lay straight. She was wearing robes of jade green.

Just as the two reached the bottom of the stairs they heard the front bell chime. Cassidy let out a squeal and took off for the front door. Cale, however, walked more sedately to where his father, Severus, and Cassidy were greeting the Malfoy's. Only the smile on his face betrayed the cool reserve he tried to show.

Xxx

Draco Lucian Kadence Malfoy was Cale's best friend and they did absolutely everything together they possibly could. Draco was excited about finally going to Hogwarts. The only thing that worried him was that he and Cale may end up in different houses. Both of his parents had been in Slytherin as had his Uncle Severus. But his Uncle James had been in Gryffindor.

Draco knew all about the sorting and knew that it didn't really matter what house your parents had been in, you could still end up in any house. He also knew though, that it was more than likely for him to end up in Slytherin because he was quite cunning and could be rather manipulative. Cale, however, showed more Gryffindor traits. He was always the first one to try anything new. He would also go out of his way to help others.

Draco was brought out of his thoughts by Cale's appearance in the entrance hall. He moved forward to embrace his best friend in a hug, neither boy noticing the sly smiles that crossed both sets of parents faces.

"Cale, would you be so kind as to help Draco carry his trunk upstairs to your room and then bring Cassidy's back down with you?" Severus asked.

"Of course, father." Cale replied reaching down to pick up one end of Draco's trunk while Draco grabbed the other. The boys quickly set off up the stairs.

Xxx

"Have you told Cale about the arrangement with Draco yet?" Lucius asked Severus while they waited for the boys to return.

"No, we wanted to wait a couple more years, until he started to express interest in dating. Have you told Draco?" Severus answered and then returned the question to Lucius.

"No, we don't want him to know before Cale does. We were hoping we could tell them both together." Severus just nodded at this comment.

Xxx

"Are you excited about starting at Hogwarts tomorrow, Dray?" Cale asked, using the nickname he had given his best friend. He was the only one that used this name.

"Of course I am, Cal." Draco replied using Cale's nickname. Again, Draco was the only one that used this nickname. The boys had reached Cale's room. They placed Draco's trunk next to Cale's and headed back down the hall to retrieve Cassidy's trunk.

Draco would be spending the night at the Snape's so that James and Severus could take the boys to the train station in the morning. Cassidy would be going to Malfoy Manor to spend the night. Then Lucius and Narcissa would be transporting both Cassidy and Thomas to a large manor both families had purchased just outside of Hogsmeade.

"What's on your mind, Dray?" Cale asked quietly as he saw a worried expression cross his best friends face.

"I'm just worried that this will be the last night we get to spend together for a long time. I'm worried that we will end up in different houses and it will interfere with our friendship." Draco replied as the boy's reached Cassidy's room and picked up her trunk.

"Dray, it doesn't matter what houses we end up in. Nothing could ever come between our friendship." Cale said turning slightly to look his friend in the eye.

"Even if I end up in Slytherin and you're in Gryffindor? You've heard how bad the house rivalries are between those two houses.."

"I don't care about house rivalries. I'm not going to abandon my best friend friend just because our houses don't get along." Cale said firmly, trying to get his point across. Draco gave him a quick smile and the boys continued their way down the stairs.

Xxx

Dinner passed quickly. The adults sat and talked about some political things, complaining about how Minister Dumbledore was subtly trying to reveal the wizarding world to muggles to cause a war. Draco and Cale barely listened to what their parents were discussing. Both boys were more caught up in their thoughts of what tomorrow might bring. Cassidy and Thomas were on the other side of the boys talking about what they were going to do while their daddy's were away teaching at Hogwarts.

Shortly after dinner was over, Lucius and Narcissa gathered up Thomas and Cassidy preparing to return to Malfoy Manor. Cale went to give his sister a hug and tell her good-bye as they most likely would not see each other again until Christmas. Draco did the same with his brother. Severus and James also gave Cassidy a hug and assured their daughter, who was starting to cry, that they would come to visit on weekends and that she could send them as many owls as she wanted. As soon as the Malfoys had departed, James turned to Cale and Draco.

"Boys, Severus and I need to speak with you for a few minutes before you go up to bed." Cale and Draco nodded and then followed James and Severus into the study. When they arrived James and Severus took a seat on a small leather couch and motioned for the boys to sit across from them on an identical couch.

"Now Cale," James began, "This mainly concerns you but we wanted Draco to be present as he too will have to get used to the change. As you know Minister Dumbledore is strongly opposed to same sex unions. He does his best to ensure anyone in this type of union can not get a job nor does he permit the children of this type of union to attend Hogwarts. Because of this, when I begin teaching at Hogwarts I will be known as Professor Potter." James stopped for a moment to allow this information to sink in and also to catch his breath.

"There is more Cale." Severus began when it looked as if the boys had processed the previous information. "Very few people know that your dad and I are married. In fact the only ones that do know are the Malfoys, Headmaster Riddle, and your godfathers. As such, because you look so much like James, you will also have to go by the name of Potter. Harry Potter to be precise." Severus stopped and looked up at his son. Cale just sat there for a few minutes before he slowly began to nod.

"I understand. However, I am curious as to who my 'mother' is supposed to be then."

"Shortly after we graduated from Hogwarts, I disappeared for nearly 2 years. Mainly it was due to the fact that I was pregnant with you. When I reappeared I had a son with me. As far as most people know my 'wife' died in childbirth." James said looking closely at his son. Again, Cale just sat there for a few minutes before slowly nodding his head. Draco had not said anything this whole time. He just sat there silently taking in all of this information.

"Was there anything else that you needed to tell me tonight?" Cale asked, looking up to his fathers for the first time in several minutes.

"No, I don't believe so. Goodnight Draco. Goodnight Cale." James said quietly. To anyone but his family and best friend Cale would seem to be cool and composed. The others in the room could tell, however, that he was quite upset.

"My name is Harry not Cale. You may as well start using it now." Cale said quietly before standing and leaving the room. Draco sat there for a moment in slight shock before quickly getting up and following his friend from the room.

Xxx

"Can you blame him, Severus? We just told our son that he can't even acknowledge his father, whom he loves dearly." James said seeing the slightly angry look on his husbands face as they too slowly made their way up to bed.

"Your right James. I just didn't think he would take it this badly." Severus said letting out a small defeated sounding sigh as he did so.

"Look at this way. How would you feel if you had to start school and not be able to use your real name or even tell any friends you might make the truth about your fathers? He just needs some time to get used to the change."

"I know. It's just hard to have him angry at us." Severus said as he entered his and James' room.

"I know, love. Hopefully all will be well in the morning. Let's not think about it for now." James said as he approached Severus and began to passionately kiss him. Severus' only answer was a lust filled moan of pleasure.

Xxx

Draco finally caught up to Cale just outside of his bedroom.

"Cale?" Draco said tentatively, reaching out a hand to touch him.

"That's not my name, Dray. You do realize that they told you because you will have to call me Harry from now on, right?" Draco just nodded as Cale opened his door.

"This doesn't change anything between us Harry, does it?" Draco asked trying out the name for the first time.

Cale turned to his best friend slightly shocked. "Of course it doesn't. I told you nothing would come between our friendship. Not even me having to go by a different name. It's been a long evening and I'm rather tired. How about we go to bed and we can discuss this more in the morning." Cale said while trying to stifle a yawn.

"Of course, Harry. Whatever you say." Draco said smirking and laughing at his best friend. Both boys quickly changed into pajamas and climbed into bed. Though there were two beds in the room they decided silently that the other might need a little comfort and therefore slipped into the same bed. Both boys soon fell asleep with their arms laying across the other's waist.

Xxx

A/N: Thanks to Constance Malfoy for your review. Well, what did you think? Let me know by reviewing.


	3. The Journey to Hogwarts

A/N: I want to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed. I was really surprised when I checked my email. Responses to reviews will be at the end of the chapter. As you will notice in this chapter Cale has officially become Harry and I have stopped calling him by his true name. I felt it was too confusing to do otherwise.

Chapter 2- The Journey to Hogwarts

This was the scene that James and Severus walked in on the following morning when they went to get the boys up. Both boys still had an arm draped across the others waist. Sometime during the night the hand that both boys had had by their head had found the others and their fingers had intertwined. James and Severus quickly walked back out of the room.

"Do you think we should tell them?" James asked quietly as he closed the door.

"No. I still think it is too early. I don't think that anything happened beyond them comforting each other." James gave Severus a questioning look at this comment.

"Draco has been worried about what may happen when they arrive at Hogwarts. He doesn't want to be separated from Cale by being in different houses. He's afraid that house rivalries will interfere with their friendship. And after what we told Cale last night it would only stand to reason that he would need the comfort Draco could give him." James just nodded at his husbands comment. They silently made their way back into their son's room and woke the boys up.

Two hours later found them on their way to Kings Cross Station so the boys could catch the Hogwarts Express. Once there they quickly found trolleys and loaded their trunks onto them. They made their way to the barrier to platform 9 ¾. James was pushing Cale's trolley while Severus was pushing Draco's. Just before they entered the barrier, James turned to face both boys.

"Harry, Draco, I just want to remind you how imperative it is that this is kept secret, at least for now." Both boys just nodded. James turned back to the barrier and went through closely followed by the others.

The platform was rather crowded with other families sending their children off to school. James and Severus quickly found an empty compartment and helped the boys to load their trunks. Cale turned around to give James and Severus a hug but stopped himself just as he was about to reach out to his father. Severus just nodded at him. He knew his son wanted to give him a hug good-bye but wasn't going to because of the current circumstances.

"We'll see you both tonight. Behave yourselves." Severus said, sending his son a look of love and apology. The boys nodded and stepped back onto the train. They were soon on their way to Hogwarts.

Xxx

"You know Dray, this is going to be really hard. I can't even talk to my father now. The only time I'm going to be able to see him is in class." Harry said sadly.

"I know Harry, but we'll get through this." They sat silently for a few minutes staring out the window at the passing scenery. The silence was broken by the sound of the compartment door opening. Harry and Draco both looked up to see a pair of red-headed twins enter the compartment. They were both tall and skinny though they appeared to be the same age as Harry and Draco.

"Uh... Hi. Do you guys mind if we sit here?" one of the twins asked.

"Of course not." Harry and Draco said together. They grinned at each other as the twins sat down.

"I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I'm Evan Weasley and this is my twin Ron." All four boys shook hands.

"I'm Draco Malfoy and this is my best friend, Harry Potter." Draco said introducing himself and Harry.

"Nice to meet both of you. So what house do you guys think you'll end up in?" Ron asked.

"Both of my parents were in Slytherin. So were a lot of other members of my family. I kinda figure I'll end up there though it doesn't really matter to me what house I end up in." Draco said.

"The same goes for me as far as not caring what house I end up in. I'd like to be in the same house as Draco but one of my parents was a Gryffindor while the other one was a Slytherin." Harry told them.

"Both of our parents and our older brothers and sister were in Gryffindor so we figure we're a shoe in for the same house." Evan told Harry and Draco.

"How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Harry asked curiously.

"We have 5 older brothers, one older sister, and one younger sister." Ron answered. Draco and Harry looked at each other slightly shocked.

"Mum and Dad wanted a large family and I guess they didn't know when to stop." Evan said flushing slightly.

"Are all of your older brothers and your older sister attending Hogwarts?" Draco asked very curious now.

"No, our older sister and 2 eldest brothers have already graduated. Actually they're all 3 coming to teach this year." At that moment the compartment door opened again. Standing in the door were two boys. The first one that entered the compartment had sandy-colored hair, was a bit shorter than Harry, and had a big grin on his face. The boy standing just behind him was nearly as tall as Ron and Evan and had dark skin and hair.

"Hey Uncle Ron, Uncle Evan. Do you mind if we sit in here?" the sandy-haired boy asked.

"Seamus, you know we don't like it when you call us that. We don't mind if you sit with us. Is that okay with you, Harry, Draco?" Evan asked looking over at the boys who were looking at him and Ron in shock. Both boys nodded their heads and the two new occupants flopped into seats.

The boys heard a clattering in the hallway. The witch with the lunch trolley opened the door and asked if they wanted anything. They all bought some candy and pumpkin pasties and were settling back to enjoy them when Draco spoke.

"So, do you guys want to explain why he called you 'uncle'?" Draco asked looking at Ron and Evan. They were about to explain when the door opened again. This time it was a girl with slightly bushy brown hair.

"Ron, Evan, there you guys are. I've been up and down the train trying to find you. How've you been?" the girl asked closing the door and taking a seat next to Ron.

"Hey Hermione. We've been good. How about you?" Evan asked.

"Not bad." She looked around the compartment at the other 4 boys sitting there. "Let me properly introduce myself. My name is Hermione Granger." The boys went around and introduced themselves as well. Draco and Harry learned that the boy who had called Ron and Evan his uncles was named Seamus Finnigan. The black boy that had come in with him was Dean Thomas.

Draco was about to ask again why Seamus had called Ron and Evan his uncles when the door opened for the 5th time. Standing in the doorway was a boy the same height as Draco and Harry with lightly tanned skin and silky black hair that just brushed his shoulders.

"Blaise!" Draco exclaimed, jumping up from his seat to pull the other boy into the compartment. Harry moved into another seat so that Draco and Blaise could sit across from each other and catch up. Harry knew that next to him, Blaise was Dray's best friend. He had been to Malfoy Manor a few times and had seen the boy around occasionally.

"Hey Drake. How've you been? Seems like forever since I last saw you." Blaise said taking the seat Harry had vacated. Blaise glanced over to Harry. "I think I've seen you around the Manor a few times. We've never been properly introduced though." Blaise and Harry both shot a glance at Draco.

"Blaise Zabini meet my other best friend, Harry Potter. I've told you some about him I'm sure." At this Harry gave Draco a questioning look to which Draco gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head.

Draco knew what Harry's silent question had been. Had he told Blaise his true identity and parentage? But he hadn't. Draco had been told several times when he was younger to not mention that his Uncle Sev and Uncle James were married to each other. Because of this Draco had never even given Blaise Harry's real name.

"Of course. It's nice to finally meet you Harry." Blaise said extending his hand.

"And you as well." Harry replied taking Blaise's hand and giving it a firm shake. Blaise looked around at the others in the compartment and another round of introductions was made.

"O.k. Now will you explain what Seamus meant earlier when he called you guys uncle?" Draco asked when everyone had finally been introduced.

"Well to make a long and boring story short, our oldest sister is his step-mum. So, technically, yes, we are his uncles, but since we are the same age we prefer him not to call us that. He does it just to annoy us." Evan replied.

After Evan's explanation the talk turned to Quidditch and the coming school term. Harry, who was sitting by the window, had tuned everyone else out and was staring out the window. Draco motioned for Blaise to switch seats with him so that he could sit beside Harry and talk to him.

"Hey Harry, what's the matter mate?" Draco asked quietly so as to not draw attention to the two of them.

"Just wondering if I'm going to be able to speak to my father at all this year. I mean outside of him being a professor." came the equally quiet response. Draco nodded and sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I'm sure we'll think of something." he said finally. Harry nodded in response and then tuned back into the conversation around him. The rest of the afternoon flew by and before they knew it they had arrived at Hogsmeade Station. The first years had been instructed to leave all their luggage on the train so the group of 8 quickly got off the train.

"First years, over here." they heard a loud voice yell. At the other end of the platform was a very large man with bushy black hair and a beard. Once all of the first years had gathered around him he said, "Right then, follow me."

They were led down a dark, slippery path that came out at the edge of a lake. On the bank sat a small fleet of boats. On the other side of the lake high up on a cliff sat Hogwarts Castle. All of its windows were lit showing all the different towers and turrets of the castle. There were a few 'ooh's' and 'ahh's' as the man leading them spoke once again.

"Four to a boat." Harry and Draco quickly climbed into a boat followed by Ron and Evan. Once everyone was in, the large man commanded all the boats forward. The boats moved forward across the lake silently and a few minutes later they had reached what appeared to be an opening in the cliff face that was covered by ivy. Once again the loud voice boomed out from behind them.

"Duck." And so they did. The boats moved through the ivy and at last reached the other shore. Everyone climbed out of the boats and followed the man up a set of stairs to a door where he knocked 3 times.

The door opened slowly and when the person standing on the other side came into view, Harry gave a small gasp and then nudged Draco with his elbow. Draco looked up and gave a small smile to the man standing in the doorway. James Snape, no, James Potter, Draco reminded himself, looked down and flashed a quick grin at Harry and Draco before leading the first years into a chamber just off to the side of the vast entrance hall.

"Welcome to Hogwarts first years. I am Professor Potter. In a few minutes I will be leading you in to join the rest of the school. Before you will be allowed to take a seat in the Great Hall, however, you must be sorted into a house. There are 4 houses: Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. Now keep this mind, anytime you break rules you will probably end up losing house points. At the end of the school term the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup. Now, I need to go check that everything is ready. Smarten yourselves up best you can and I'll be right back." As soon as the professor had left the six people that had ridden with Harry and Draco turned to look at Harry.

"Hey Harry, is that your dad?" Blaise asked the question that was on everyone's mind. Harry just nodded.

"Did you know he was going to be teaching? Do you know what he's teaching?" Ron and Evan asked together. The others laughed.

"Yes, I knew he was going to be teaching. As for what he's teaching, he never told me. Do you know what your dad and Uncle Sev are teaching, Draco?" Harry asked turning to the blonde.

"No, they never told me. What about you, Ron and Evan? Did your bothers and sister tell you what they would be teaching?" Ron and Evan just shook their heads no. At that moment James came back into the room.

"All right, everyone, follow me." And he led the first years into the Great Hall.

Xxx

A/N: Sorry for Hagrid's accent. I did not want to attempt it so for my story he does not have one.

Puppy Kicker, starangel2106: I'm gald that you find this story interesting. Thank you for the review.

Methoslover: Again I'm glad you like the story. As for the chapters being longer, some may be longer than others. I just write a chapter until I find a place that seems like a good ending. Most of the chapters are between 5-6 pages on word.

Hogwarts Fallen Angel: You are right about the house. As for your question as much as I would like to answer it, it would ruin the surprise in the next chapter.

Nyoka Li: Glad you like it. As for the beta thing, I barely have time to get this posted much less type it for a beta. I appreciate the offer though. Yes, Dumbledore is the bad guy here. You will get to see just how bad in a couple of chapters. As for the idea, it is not mine alone. My sister and I are working on this together. We came up with it together. As much as I wish I could say it is fully developed I must admit it is not. This is a WIP, thats why it has been three weeks since I last updated.


	4. The Sorting

The Arrangement

Chapter 3- The Sorting

A/N: I want to thank those that have reviewed this story and apologize to you for the long delay. The weekend I had planned to update this, I lost my internet connection and just got it back. To make up for the long wait I am posting two chapters today. There will be a list of students and what houses they ended up in at the end of this chapter. I thought it would be easier to do that since there will be people going into different houses then in canon. Also teachers and heads of house. One more thing before I forget. The sorting hat song is taken from book one.

Hogwarts Fallen Angel- You were right about the house, but I have a little twist planned for later on down the road. About 4th year. Thanks for the review.

As they walked into the Great Hall, Harry glanced along the staff table looking for his father. To his surprise his father wasn't the only one he recognized at the staff table. Harry nudged Draco and slanted his head at the table. Draco and Harry grinned at each other, for sitting at the table were their godfathers, Sirius Black and Remus Lupin-Black.

Both boys had two sets of godparents. While Lucius and Narcissa were one of Harry's, the other was Sirius and Remus. The same went for Draco. Severus and James were one set while Remus and Sirius were the other.

"This just might turn out to be a fun year." Harry whispered to Draco who nodded back to him. Their attention was pulled back to James who had just walked back in carrying a stool and what appeared to be a dusty, old wizards hat. Everyone was looking at it, waiting for something to happen. Quite suddenly a rip near the brim of the hat opened and it began to sing.

Oh you may not think I'm pretty  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
You can keep your bowlers black,  
Your top hats sleek and tall,  
For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat  
And I can cap them all.  
There's nothing hidden in your head  
The Sorting Hat can't see,  
So try me on and I will tell you  
Where you ought to be.

You might belong in Gryffindor,  
Where dwell the brave at heart,  
Their daring, nerve, and chivalry  
Set Gryffindors apart;  
You might belong in Hufflepuff,  
Where they are just and loyal,  
Those patient Hufflepuffs are true  
And unafraid of toil;  
Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw  
If you've a ready mind,  
Where those of wit and learning  
Will always find their kind;  
Or perhaps in Slytherin  
You'll make your real friends,  
Those cunning folk use any means  
To achieve their ends.

So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!

When the hat had finished its song and gone still, the whole hall burst into applause. James stepped forward once again holding a scroll in his hand.

"When I call your name, step forward and place the hat on your head. It will call out your house to the whole hall. Then please join your house table. Abbott, Hannah."

A girl with blonde pigtails stepped forward and put the hat on. A minute later it called out 'Gryffindor'. One of the tables broke into applause and Hannah took off the hat and walked over to that table.

"Bones, Susan." A moment later the hat shouted 'Gryffindor' and Susan went over to sit next to Hannah.

"Boot, Terry."

"Ravenclaw."

"Brown, Lavender."

"Ravenclaw."

Harry was beginning to notice by now that sometimes the hat would immediately call a house out and other times it would take a few minutes.

"Bulstrode, Millicent." Here the hat took a few minutes but it finally decided that she would be the first new Hufflepuff.

"Finch-Fletchley, Justin."

"Ravenclaw."

Finally one of the people he had talked with on the train was called. "Finnigan, Seamus." He also went to Gryffindor.

"Granger, Hermione." Harry saw Ron give her a quick thumbs up as she took the hat and sat on the stool. A moment later the hat called out 'Gryffindor'. She sent Ron a quick smile as she walked off to join the Gryffindor table.

"Longbottom, Neville."

Harry was beginning to get impatient. He wanted the sorting to be over with so he knew what house he would be in. He was pulled out of his thoughts when the hat decided to put Neville Longbottom in Hufflepuff.

At long last it was Draco's turn to be sorted. The hat sat on his head for a moment before it declared him a Slytherin. Draco shot a worried glance over his shoulder at Harry before moving off to join the Slytherin table.

Harry glanced back at the staff table to see what his father's reaction would be as well as Lucius, Remus, and Sirius. Severus and Lucius looked like they couldn't have been prouder while Remus and Sirius didn't look the least bit surprised.

"Nott, Theodore," was the next person Harry noticed being called. He quickly became a Gryffindor.

Then there was a pug-faced girl named Pansy Parkinson who was immediately declared a Slytherin. She went to sit beside a boy named Goyle who had been sorted into that house earlier.

Next up was a pair of twins named Patil. They both became Ravenclaws and went to sit with Lavender Brown.

Then it was his turn. He slowly approached the stool. He stole a quick glance at his dad who looked nervous but was grinning at him anyway. Harry slid onto the stool and James placed the hat on his head. It slipped down over his eyes and was silent for a few seconds before a small voice spoke in his ear.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, or should I say Snape? Do not worry young one, no one but you can hear me. Ah, you are wondering how I knew your true identity. Headmaster Riddle informed me of the special circumstances. It seems that there are quite a few on staff this year who are just like your fathers. I suppose I should place you in a house. You have Sev's cunning but your bravery overrides that. You shall follow in James footsteps and be a Gryffindor." The last word was shouted for all to hear. Harry pulled the hat off and glanced at his dad again who was giving him a small smile. Harry then walked over to the Gryffindor table and sat down beside Hermione and Seamus.

By the time Harry had sat down Dean Thomas had the hat on. He was quickly sorted into Gryffindor. Harry looked back up at the staff table. His father and Lucius were quietly talking to each other, looks of concern on both their faces. Remus and Sirius were both beaming down at him in pride.

Harry turned back to the sorting just as Evan Weasley was called. He sat on the stool for several minutes before the hat finally declared him a Slytherin. You could have heard a pin drop in the hall, it had gotten so quiet. This was the first Weasley to end up in Slytherin for quite some time and no one could believe it, most of all his family.

Then Draco began to clap and the rest of the table weakly joined in. Evan walked over and sat next to Draco and immediately began to talk to him. There were only two people left now. Ron Weasley quickly joined his brothers in Gryffindor while Blaise Zabini was sent to Slytherin. He went and joined Draco and Evan and immediately joined in their conversation.

Silence fell over the hall again as Headmaster Riddle stood to his feet. "Welcome, first years and all of our returning students to another year at Hogwarts. I know you are all eager to get to the food but there are a few notices and introductions to be made first. First years should note that the forest on the edge of school property is forbidden. Some of our older students would do well to remember that as well. Also there is to be no magic used in the halls between classes."

"There have been several changes to the staff this year so I am going to introduce all of the professors. As I do so I would like said professor to stand to your feet so the students can clearly see you. Another change this year is that the staff and I have decided it would be more prudent to have both a male and female head of house for each house. I will be informing you who they are after all the introductions have been made."

"First we have our Potions Master, Lucius Malfoy. Next to him is Professor Severus Snape who will be teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. Next is Professor James Potter, our Transfiguration professor and deputy Headmaster. Next is Professor Remus Lupin, who will be taking our Care of Magical Creatures classes this year. Then there is Professor Sirius Black, who will be teaching Muggle Studies." The Headmaster paused as he turned to the other end of the table and to catch his breath.

"At the other end of the table is our groundskeeper, Rebeus Hagrid. Next to him is Professor Rolanda Hooch, the Astronomy professor. Next to her is Professor Bill Weasley, our Divination teacher. Next is Professor Lillian Finnigan, History of Magic. Next is Professor Charlie Weasley, our flying and quidditch instructor. Next is Madam Poppy Pomfrey, the school's medi-witch. Next to her is our Charms Master, Professor Filius Flitwick. Next is Professor Richard Vector, the Arithmancy professor. And last, but certainly not least, is Professor Pomona Sprout, our Herbology professor." There was a light smattering of applause as the headmaster finished the introductions.

"Two more things and then I will let you get to the feast. Firstly, there have been some changes in the curriculum this year. We have decided to make a couple more classes mandatory for everyone to take until at least 5th year. You will see the new classes when you receive your schedules on Monday morning. Now to introduce the heads of house. For Slytherin we have Professor Malfoy and Professor Hooch. Hufflepuffs are Professors Black and Sprout. Ravenclaws are Professor Lupin and Madam Pomfrey. Gryffindors are Professors Snape and Finnigan."

Harry had looked over to the Slytherin table when he heard that Lucius was to be the head of house. Draco flashed him a quick grin at this. Harry's head had snapped back up to the staff table when he heard that his father was to be one of the Gryffindor heads. Severus gave him a small smile before returning his attention to the headmaster.

"Now the feast may begin." And all of the tables were suddenly filled with food. Harry quickly began to eat. It seemed like a long time since he had that candy on the train ride here. He glanced over a few times to the Slytherin table to see Draco, Evan, and Blaise talking and laughing while they ate.

Harry finally turned to Ron to ask him a question. "So, why do you think Evan ended up in Slytherin, Ron?"

"I'm not sure. He is the more cunning and ambitious out of the two of us. Maybe he just didn't want to be in the same house as the rest of us. We've always felt a little overshadowed by having so many older brothers come here. It just seems as if no matter what we do, no one will notice us because our brothers and sister did it first. I know that probably doesn't make sense to you. Him being in Slytherin though already sets him apart from the rest of us and I'd bet that's what he was going for." Ron replied while looking over at the Slytherin table.

Just as the feast ended, Harry saw Lucius, James, and Severus stand up from the staff table. Lucius was headed for the Slytherin table, James was headed for the Gryffindor table, and Severus was headed out of the hall. James stopped next to Harry before he spoke.

"Mr. Potter, I need to speak to you for a few minutes before you go up to bed." Harry nodded, stood, and glanced over to the Slytherin table to see Draco do the same thing. Both boys silently followed their fathers out of the hall and up to Severus' office. Once there, James placed a couple of locking and silencing charms before turning back to the boys.

"We have a surprise for the two of you. We had these ready in case you were sorted into different houses." Severus said as he reached into his desk and pulled out two pocket sized mirrors.

"These are two-way mirrors. All you need to do is say the name of the person you want to talk to into the mirror and if they have it with them their face should appear in the mirror. There are 4 of these total. You each have one while Sirius and Remus have one and Sev and I have the other." James said as he handed the mirrors to the shocked boys. Lucius and Severus both had a smirk on their face while James was grinning like a mad man.

"The 4 of us used these while we were all in school. Severus and I used them to talk to each other when we couldn't publicly. Sirius, Remus, and I used them when we were in separate detentions and got bored." James said still grinning.

Lucius stepped forward now. "I realize I probably don't have to say this but I will just for my own peace of mind. It would be best if you kept these mirrors to yourselves, at least for now." Harry and Draco just nodded their heads.

"Alright then. I think that was everything. The boys need to get to bed, its been a long day for them." James said starting to take down the silencing and locking charms.

"Wait a moment James. I wanted to speak to Harry for a few minutes before I take him up to the tower." James nodded and he, Lucius, and Draco left so Severus and Harry could talk. Once the door was closed Severus once again put up a silencing and locking charm.

"I know this has been a long day for you but what I have to say won't take long. I just want to say how much I love you and how proud I am of you for ending up in Gryffindor. And that's not because I'm head of house. Actually the male heads of house weren't decided until you and Draco were sorted." At Harry's puzzled expression Severus went on. "Headmaster Riddle wanted to put me as your head of house to give you a reason to come see me outside of being your defense professor. He had already decided who he wanted to be head of what house but he waited until after the sorting to make his final decision. If you had been sorted into Slytherin with Draco then I would have been made head of that house while James took Gryffindor and Lucius would have taken over as deputy headmaster. He was prepared to shift everything depending on where you got sorted." Harry just sat there in shock that the headmaster would go to so much trouble just for him.

"Well, I think its time I take you up to bed." Severus stood and then pulled Harry to his feet. They silently made their way to Gryffindor Tower. When they reached it the portrait of the Fat Lady asked for the password. Once Sev had given it (pig snout), the portrait swung open and they walked into the common room.

"Upstairs to the left are the boys dormitories. Your trunk should already be up there. Goodnight Mr. Potter." Harry just nodded and headed off to find his room. He was barely able to make it to his room he was so tired. He was asleep as soon as he laid down on the bed.

Here is a list of students and houses.

Harry Potter- Gryffindor  
Draco Malfoy- Slytherin  
Pansy Parkinson- Slytherin  
Gregory Goyle- Slytherin  
Vincent Crabbe- Hufflepuff  
Neville Longbottom- Hufflepuff  
Ron Weasley- Gryffindor  
Evan Weasley- Slytherin  
Hannah Abbott- Gryffindor  
Susan Bones- Gryffindor  
Theodore Nott- Gryffindor  
Hermione Granger- Gryffindor  
Parvati Patil- Ravenclaw  
Padma Patil- Ravenclaw  
Lavender Brown- Ravenclaw  
Blaise Zabini- Slytherin  
Millicent Bulstrode- Hufflepuff  
Terry Boot- Ravenclaw  
Mandy Brocklehurst- Ravenclaw  
Seamus Finnigan- Gryffindor  
Dean Thomas- Gryffindor  
Ernie McMillian- Slytherin  
Justin Finch-Fletchley- Ravenclaw

Here is the list of teachers and heads of house

Tom Riddle- Headmaster  
Lucius Malfoy- Potions/Slytherin head  
Severus Snape- Defense Against the Dark Arts/Gryffindor head  
James Potter- Transfiguration/Deputy Headmaster  
Remus Lupin-Black- Care of Magical Creatures/Ravenclaw head  
Sirius Black- Muggle Studies/ Hufflepuff head  
Lillian Finnigan- History of Magic/Gryffindor head  
Fillius Flitwick- Charms  
Pomona Sprout- Herbology/Hufflepuff head  
Rolanda Hooch- Astronomy/Slytherin head  
Richard Vector- Arithmancy and Runes  
Charlie Weasley- Flying and Quidditch coach  
Bill Weasley- Divination  
Poppy Pomfrey- medi-witch/Ravenclaw head


	5. The Map

The Arrangement

Chapter 4- The Map

Here is the second chapter I promised you.

Harry awoke early the next morning to someone calling his name. It took him a few seconds to realize that it was Draco and that he was using the two-way mirror.

"It's about time you woke up Harry." Draco told him when Harry picked up the mirror to show he was awake.

"What do you want so early Dray?" Harry asked trying and failing to stifle a yawn.

"I want you to get your lazy arse up and come join me for breakfast in the Great Hall."

"Okay, meet you there in 15 minutes."

"'Kay, bye." Draco's face disappeared from the mirror. Harry quickly dressed and made his way out of Gryffindor Tower. It took him another 20 minutes to reach the Great Hall as he got lost a couple of times. Dray was waiting for him outside the doors to the Great Hall when he arrived.

"What took you so long?" Draco asked when he caught sight of Harry.

"Sorry, Dray. I got a little lost on my way here." Harry told him fighting a blush.

"Oh. Lets go get something to eat." Draco replied, laughing slightly at his best friend. Since it was Saturday there wasn't many students in the Great Hall. Harry decided to sit at the Slytherin table with Draco so they could plan what to do with their day. Shortly after they had begun to eat Blaise and Evan walked into the hall followed by Ron and Hermione. They all made their way over to the Slytherin table.

"Hey guys. What's up?" Blaise asked as sat down across from the two boys. Evan sat down next to Blaise while Ron and Hermione sat next to Harry and Draco.

"Just trying to decide what to do with our day. We were thinking of exploring the castle. Do you guys want to come?" Harry asked them as they dished up their own breakfast. There was a chorus of 'yeah' and 'sure'. They were all eager to try and learn their way around the castle before classes started on Monday. None of them wanted to get lost on their way to class.

There was suddenly a loud voice behind Harry and Draco. "What do you think you're doing? We don't allow Gryffindorks at the Slytherin table." A blonde girl with a pug face and a large boy with a menacing look on his face stood behind them.

"Look, Parkinson, I don't know what your problem is, but there is absolutely no problem with Harry and the others sitting here." Blaise replied coldly.

"You know what Blaise, they're not worth it. We can just go sit at the Gryffindor table from now on." Evan replied calmly while giving Pansy a scathing look.

"We're done anyway, so how about we start exploring now?" Harry asked trying to keep a fight from breaking out. The others agreed and they walked out of the Great Hall.

"Where should we start?" Ron asked uncertainly.

"I think it would be best to start at the bottom and work our way up." Hermione said in a matter of fact tone of voice. The others agreed and Draco, Blaise, and Evan led the way to the dungeons.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs leading into the dungeons, they met up with professors Malfoy, Snape, and Potter. All 3 professors smiled at the small group before Harry and Draco broke the silence.

"Good morning Professors." they brightly said together.

"Good morning. And just what are the lot of you up to today?" James asked flashing a mischievous grin at Harry and Draco.

"We were just going to explore the castle so we know how to get around for classes." Draco answered grinning back at James.

"James, don't you have something that would help with their exploration?" Severus asked knowingly. Harry and Draco looked at James with a bit of surprise and curiosity.

"Actually, no, I don't. Filch confiscated it in our 6th year. Remus or Sirius might still have theirs though. We should go find out." James said and then motioned for the group to follow him.

"Harry, do you know what they're talking about?" Draco asked him quietly as they made their way back upstairs. Harry just shook his head no. Back in the entrance hall they ran into the twp people they were looking for.

"Remus! Sirius!" James called out waving them over.

"Good morning James, Severus, Lucius. What can we do for you this morning?" Remus replied as they moved over to join them.

"Severus and I were wondering if you still had your copy of the map." James said quietly glancing pointedly at the small group of students standing behind Lucius.

"Yeah we do but we'd like to keep at least one copy for ourselves." Sirius replied just as quietly. James nodded in understanding.

"We can make another copy for Draco later today, but is there any chance you will at least let them have one copy now? They were going to go exploring in the castle. It was Sev's idea to give them a map. Mine was confiscated in sixth year, remember? We wanted to keep Sev's for ourselves as well."

"We can do that. Let me just go get my copy. Remember, we will all 4 have to be there to make another copy. I think it best if only Harry and Draco know how to use them as it will show all of our true names." Remus replied. James nodded. Remus turned and called Harry and Draco over.

"Come with me, boys, and I will give you something to help you out today." The boys followed Remus up to his quarters on the first floor. Once they were inside Remus put up a locking and silencing charm.

"Okay, what I'm about to show you is highly secretive. Do not let anyone else know how to work this. _Accio map._ Draco, we will be making you your own copy later today. For now the two of you will need to share this. Do not let anyone else look at this when it's activated. You'll see why in a minute." Remus held out a piece of parchment to Harry who took it.

"Take out your wand and tap the paper and say 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good'." Harry did as he was told and lines began to appear from the point where his wand touched the paper. It was a map of Hogwarts. The heading at the top of the map read:

_Messrs. Moony, Shadow, Padfoot_, _and Prongs  
Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers  
are proud to present_

The Marauders Map

"Do you see why only the two of you can use this map?" Remus asked the boys. Harry scanned the map and let out a surprised gasp. His dad was still in the entrance hall with Lucius and his father but instead of showing him as James Potter it showed him as James Snape. He looked around more and his eyes fell onto Remus' quarters. Remus' name showed up as Remus Black and his as Cale Snape.

"The map shows our real names. We can never let anyone else see these. Are you sure it's safe for us to be using them?" Harry asked Remus.

"As long as you are careful with it I don't see any problems. Let's head back down so you can join your friends." Remus said leading the way back to the entrance hall.

When they reached the entrance hall they saw their friends standing around looking rather nervous because there were 4 professors standing there talking amongst themselves. Harry and Draco smirked at the looks on their faces while they were trying to avoid the professor's gaze's. James was the first to see them return.

"Harry, Draco, may I see it for a moment." Harry handed over the parchment. "Just as I thought." James handed it back to Harry with a meaningful look. Harry nodded at his dads unspoken words.

"Okay, guys, lets go exploring." Draco said to the small group of friends standing a few feet away. They let out a collective sigh of relief which made Harry and Draco smirk again. When they were out of earshot of the professors, Harry and Draco stopped and turned to their friends.

"You guys so know that you don't have to be afraid of those professors, right?" Harry asked them. Everyone just looked at him rather skeptically. He sighed and looked to Draco for help.

"Look, we have known them all our lives. They will be strict in class and when it comes to major rule breaking, but otherwise they are very laid back and easy going." Draco told them all.

"What makes you so sure about that?" Hermione asked slightly curious. "I mean, obviously Professor Malfoy is your father and Professor Potter is Harry's, but how can you be so sure about the other 3?"

"Because they have all been friends since their own school days here. They are like family to Harry and I. You don't have to worry about them showing favoritism though." Draco said, rightly guessing at the looks that passed over Ron and Evan's faces. "Do you expect your brothers and sister to show you favoritism?" Draco asked them.

"No, I suppose you're right." they muttered together. Blaise hadn't spoken this whole time as he was quite well acquainted with Professor Malfoy and somewhat so with Professor Snape. He had met him a few times at Malfoy Manor. Now that he thought about it every time he had seen Professor Snape at the Manor he had seen Harry there as well. He turned a slightly calculating gaze in Harry's direction.

Harry had been surreptitiously watching Blaise the whole time as he was the only one that hadn't said anything. He could almost see the conclusion Blaise came too as he had been wondering how long it would take him to realize that he had always visited Malfoy Manor with his father. When he saw Blaise give him the slightly calculating look he nudged Draco so that they could get a move on.

"Okay, let's get going. I would like to be back in the entrance hall by lunchtime. So where do we start?" Draco asked everyone. Harry was the first to answer.

"Why don't we start down by the Slytherin dorms and find the quickest way to the potions classroom."

"How did you know the entrance to Slytherin was down here?" Evan asked.

"Our parents have told us all about their time at Hogwarts." Draco told them. Everyone but Blaise just kind of muttered something that sounded like 'oh'.

They finally made their way to the entrance to the Slytherin dorms. They once again came face to face with Pansy Parkinson and the large boy from breakfast.

"Don't tell me you're showing them how to get into the Slytherin dorms now?" Parkinson said, sneering at the small group in front of her. They just chose to ignore her.

"Okay," Harry said looking down at the map in his hands, Draco looking over his shoulder. "We're right here and the potions room is here," he continued pointing at the map. He glanced up at the wall in front of him and then back to the map. He glanced over at Draco and they both shrugged.

According to the map they should have a straight path to the classroom. Harry handed the map to Draco and walked over to the wall placing a hand on it. However, the wall was an illusion and his hand passed right through it. He glanced back at the others and grinned before walking right through the wall. The others quickly followed. A couple of minutes later they stood in front of the open classroom door. Just inside stood 5 professors grinning at the small group.

"It didn't take you long to figure that one out." Sirius said with a chuckle. Harry and Draco also gave a small chuckle and flashed the professors a grin.

"Okay, so now what's the fastest way to the Great Hall?" Evan asked. Harry and Draco looked back down at the map.

"There doesn't appear to be a shortcut. It looks like we'll have to take the stairs." Draco answered and began to lead the way. The professors followed them back up to the entrance hall.

"What classrooms are on the first floor?" Hermione asked.

"Defense, Transfiguration, and Muggle Studies are all on the first floor. You will be taking all 3 of those classes this year." Sirius answered. Ron and Evan looked at him in surprise.

"We were told that" Ron began.

"Muggle Studies was one of the classes we chose in third year." Evan finished.

"That is one of the curriculum changes that Headmaster Riddle talked about last night. There is one other class that has been added as mandatory until at least 5th year and that is Arithmancy." Remus informed them.

Blaise once again had a calculating look on his face. He kept looking between Severus, James, and Harry. Lucius noticed this and stepped forward to speak for the first time.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy, please come to my office immediately after lunch. There is something I need to discuss with you."

"Yes sir."

"You have about an hour before lunch. Why don't you go on up to the first floor and look around. We'll see you all at lunch." Severus told them and then the professors walked away.

"What's up Lucius? Why do you want to see Harry and Draco after lunch?" James asked as they headed back down to the dungeons.

"I think we may have a problem. You saw the Zabini boy with them?" The other 4 nodded. "Next to Harry, Blaise is Draco's best friend. He has been at the Manor the same time Harry has been a few times though they never interacted. Draco knew enough to not mention your relationship to anyone outside the family but I think he may suspect. I want to warn them but also find out how much Draco trusts him." Lucius finished as they stepped into his office. No one else said anything as they thought this over.

Draco and Harry said very little as they wandered around the first floor trying to figure out what Lucius could possibly want. The hour before lunch passed quickly and they soon found themselves sitting at the Gryffindor table enjoying hamburgers and chips with cola to drink.

At different points during lunch Draco and Harry would notice one of their godfathers or Harry's fathers looking in their direction before they would get up and walk out of the hall. This made the boys even more nervous about whatever it was that Lucius wanted to see them for. Just as lunch was ending, both boys glanced up at the head table and saw Lucius stand up, giving them a quick glance before leaving the hall. Both boys quickly followed him out.

Because of the looks the others gave them during lunch, it came as no great surprise to the two boys when they knocked on Lucius' door to see all 5 professors waiting for them. They entered and quickly took their seats. Harry was the first to break the somewhat tense silence.

"You wanted to see us, professor?" The professors all gave a small laugh.

"Relax, boys. You're not in any trouble. We just wanted to talk to you about Blaise Zabini. I noticed something earlier and just wanted to caution you." Lucius said gently. Harry had paled slightly when Blaise's name had been brought up. Severus was the first to notice this.

"What's wrong Harry?"

"I think he knows or at the very least suspects. I wanted to talk to Draco about it but we haven't had the chance. I think all of the times he saw me at the Manor it was just father and I who had come over. I don't think he ever saw dad there." Harry explained quietly. Severus and James looked at each other with concern in their eyes.

"Just as I thought. Am I right in assuming, Draco, that you never actually told Blaise Harry's real name?" Draco nodded his head.

"So what do we do?" James asked.

"How trustworthy do you think Blaise is, Draco?" Lucius asked his son.

"I don't think he would tell anyone our secret." Draco replied to his father.

"I suggest we just leave things for now and see if Blaise approaches any of us. We can discreetly keep an eye on him and you boys be extremely careful around him, but if you try to stay away from him altogether then he will know that we are definitely hiding something. If he has or does figure it out, then we will cross that bridge when we come to it" Severus said and the others agreed.

"Are you still exploring the castle this afternoon?" Sirius asked. Both boys nodded. "How's that going?"

"Really good. We've figured out where all of the classrooms on the first floor are. We were going to start on the second floor as soon as we were done here." Harry replied.

"Well then, you boys best be off. We will come find you if anything comes up." Remus said. The boys quickly left the office to find their new friends. They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the castle and having a good time with their friends.


	6. The Letter

**The Arrangement**

Chapter 5- The Letter

Sunday morning started much as the previous day had. Harry was again awakened by Draco calling him in the two-way mirror. This time, however, Harry didn't get lost on his way to the Great Hall as he was using the map he had been given the previous day.

Upon entering the Great Hall Draco and Harry immediately went and sat at the Gryffindor table since Pansy Parkinson and her bodyguard were sitting at the Slytherin table. As it was Pansy and the boy sitting with her, Harry thought his name was Goyle, kept shooting glares at the two boys sitting at the Gryffindor table.

"I wonder what class we'll have first tomorrow." Draco said as they ate breakfast.

"I'm not sure but I'll bet that Gryffindor and Slytherin will be together for every class we have." Harry said with a knowing smile. Draco looked at him questioningly. "There's something I haven't told you yet, but it looks like I'll have to tell you later." Harry said while he looked over to the doors of the Great Hall. He had just seen Blaise and Evan come in. Draco saw them and gave Harry a short nod.

"Morning guys. Mind if we sit here?" Evan asked as he and Blaise neared the table.

"Not at all. The more the merrier, right Harry?" Draco responded. Harry just gave them a grin. A few minutes later Ron and Hermione entered the hall and went straight over to where Harry was sitting as he was waving them over.

"Morning everyone. Do you guys have any plans for today?" Hermione asked as she and Ron sat down next to Harry.

"I was just planning on grabbing a couple of my textbooks and going outside to sit and enjoy the weather." Harry told them. Everyone agreed that it would be a nice day to spend outside. When they had finished breakfast, each went back to their respective dorm to grab a book and then they all met up outside and went to sit by a beech tree near the lake.

The day passed quickly and quietly. The small group of students didn't talk much except to discuss the different text books they were reading. Whenever they had a potions question they would turn to Draco but quickly found that Harry was also quite knowledgeable about the subject.

Monday morning, Harry was up early, eager for the first day of classes to begin. He woke Draco using the two-way mirrors as Draco had the last two days. They met outside the Great Hall as usual and were one of the first people to arrive since it was still early.

"Ok, so what were you going to say yesterday before Evan and Blaise came in?" Draco asked as they loaded their plates with bacon, eggs, and toast.

"Oh, that. Well, you know how Professor Snape is head of Gryffindor, right?" Draco just nodded. "Well, he told me that no matter what house I had been sorted into he would have been one of the heads. Headmaster Riddle wanted to be sure I would be able to talk to him outside of classes." Harry finished in a near whisper.

"So why do you think Gryffindor and Slytherin will be sharing all of their classes?"

"I think our fathers will try to convince the headmaster to do that so we can spend time together. Also a little because of Ron and Evan." Harry answered. Draco just looked at him for a minute before shaking his head.

"I don't know why you didn't end up in Slytherin, that's a very cunning thing to do."

"Well, the hat did say I have fathers cunning but my courageous side overrules it." Harry smirked.

"I should have known." Draco said shaking his head. Just then a small brown owl came flying into the Great Hall. It landed in front of the two boys.

"Who's it from Dray?" Harry asked as Draco took the letter it carried off its leg.

"This one is from Thomas. This one is for you from Cassie, I would assume." Draco said handing over a letter that was indeed in his sister's handwriting. Harry opened the note and began to read it.

_Dear Cale,_

_Hey big brother, how are you? How are father and dad? What house did you get into?_

_The house here is almost as big as the one at home. I'm glad Maddy and Thomas are here because it would be really boring otherwise. Aunt Cissa is trying to keep us busy but there is only so much she can do._

_You'll have to tell me what all of your classes are like. I bet that they start tomorrow, huh? Do you have Uncle Remmy or Uncle Siri for any classes? Maddy says to tell her dads hi for her next time you see them. I didn't even know they were going to be teaching until they showed up to drop her off. Did you know they were going to teach?_

_Tell everyone hi for me and give dad and father a big hug for me._

_Your sister,_

_Cassie Snape_

Just as Harry was finishing the letter he heard Draco whisper. "Better put that away. Here comes Evan and Blaise." Harry quickly put the letter into his school bag.

"Morning guys. Have the teachers handed out the class schedules yet?" Blaise asked as he and Evan sat down next to Draco.

"No, not yet. They were probably waiting till there were a few more students here." Harry answered.

"Then what were you putting in your bag, Harry?" Blaise asked glancing over at him.

"Nosey much, this morning Blaise?" Harry asked half joking. "Just a letter from my little sister." Harry answered anyway. Blaise turned thoughtful and Harry and Draco exchanged a worried glance. A few minutes later Ron and Hermione entered the hall and took seats next to Harry.

"Morning everyone. Have the schedules been passed out yet?" Hermione asked as she sat down. Harry just pointed to the head of the table where his father was starting to hand out the schedules.

The classes were setup so that they only had two classes a day but both classes were double periods so that they spent 4 hours in each class. As Harry had guessed, all of the Slytherin and Gryffindor classes were together. The group of 6 young people currently sitting at the Gryffindor table were rather glad about this.

Their first class of the day was Potions followed by Muggle Studies. They had Flying and Charms on Tuesday. Wednesday was History of Magic and Transfiguration. They had Defense Against the Dark Arts and Arithmancy on Thursday and Herbology and Astronomy on Friday.

The group headed off in high spirits. They quickly reached the Potions classroom. They all took seats near each other and quietly waited for the lesson to begin. It wasn't long before Professor Malfoy came in and took roll call.

"Now that roll call is done there is something I want to make perfectly clear. I will not tolerate anyone slacking off in this class. I do not care what house you are in, if I find you causing trouble of any kind, I will deduct points from your house. Despite me being head of Slytherin, I will not be partial to that house. If you deserve points for your work you will receive them."

"Now today we will be making a boil cure. I want you to work in partners. The instructions are on the board. I will be moving around the class to help. Don't be afraid to raise your hand if you have a question. Let's get started." Draco and Harry shot each other a grin and then got started on their potion.

The rest of the class passed uneventfully. Everyone turned out fairly decent potions and received 5 points for their house. As each group finished they were told to quietly read the first chapter of their textbook and then write a two-foot essay on the properties of the potion they had made to be handed in on the following Monday.

When the bell rang the class quietly packed all of their things away and went to the Great Hall for lunch. When Harry was done eating his lunch, he pulled out his Muggle Studies book to see what sort of things they would be learning about. As he did something fell out of his bag unnoticed by everyone except Blaise.

Blaise waited until everyone was looking in another direction then quickly reached under the table to grab the letter. He stuffed it into his pocket so he could look at it later. He suspected there was more to Harry Potter than people were letting on.

As soon as they were finished with lunch, everyone headed up to the first floor for their first Muggle Studies class. It wasn't long before Professor Black arrived to allow the students into the classroom. It was while the Professor was taking role call that Blaise finally took the letter out of his pocket and quickly scanned over it. It was just as he suspected. Harry Potter was not who he said he was. His real name was Cale Snape.

Blaise quickly slipped the letter back into his pocket and returned his attention to the class at hand. The class turned out to be quite interesting. They were going to learn about different muggle inventions that took the place of magic in the wizarding world. The first thing Professor Black started teaching about was something called electricity.

The class passed rather quickly and most of the students were still not sure that they understood the concept of electricity. Professor Black told them not to worry too much about it as they would be studying this subject for a while. He then assigned the first chapter in their text books for them to read. Also a book that would have to be gotten from the library. He told them to be prepared to discuss both in the next class.

When the bell rang the small group of 6 friends, that had been nearly inseparable since that first day, decided to go to the library and get a head start on their homework. Harry pulled all of his things out of his bag when they were all seated around a table in the library. He looked back into his bag as if he was looking for something. Not finding whatever it was that he was looking for, he quickly looked to Draco.

"Hey Draco, come help me find the book that Professor Black assigned." Harry said, standing and giving Draco a pointed look. Draco nodded and quickly followed him.

"What is it? What's wrong Harry?" Draco asked when they were out of earshot of the others.

"My letter from Cassie is gone. I put it in my bag at breakfast and now its not there. Where could it be Dray?" Harry answered looking very nervous.

"Are you sure it's not in any of your books lion?" Draco asked, using the nickname Harry's fathers used in an attempt to calm him down. Harry just shook his head.

"The last time I remember seeing it was at lunch when I pulled out my Muggle Studies book. I know it was in my bag then. Let's grab the book Siri assigned and head back to the table. I'll double check everything but I'm sure it's not there." Harry said shaking his head again.

While the two boys were gone, Blaise slipped the object in question back into Harry's bag without raising any suspicions. The two boys returned to the table and Harry looked through his bag again. To his relief the letter was in his bag but he was positive it wasn't there before. Harry caught Draco's eye and gave him a small smile to let him know he had found the letter. Draco gave him a small nod and let his gaze drift over the others at the table.

He had a thoughtful look on his face as he looked around at the others. His gaze lingered on Blaise a bit longer than it had the others. He suddenly inhaled a sharp breath and went paler than usual. He quickly regained his composure however.

"Hey guys, Harry and I are going to go ahead and head down for dinner. We need to ask Professor Black a question on our way. We'll see you at dinner, ok?" The others just nodded and Harry and Draco quickly walked out of the library.

Blaise watched them leave feeling slightly nervous. Had the missing letter been noticed? Did they suspect him of taking it? All he could do was wait and see what happened.

Out in the hall Harry turned to face Draco when they had reached a secluded spot.

"Alright Dray, what's up?"

"Do you remember who was sitting next to you at lunch?" Draco asked in response.

"Um, I think Blaise and Hermione were, why?"

"And just now in the library, who was sitting right next to you?"

"Blaise. You don't think he took it do you? I think it's time to go talk to my dad." Draco nodded as Harry pulled out the map out of his pocket to see where his dad was. Before Harry could activate the map a voice behind them startled both boys.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter, why are you hiding in the corner?" Both boys turned around to look into the smiling face of Professor Snape.

"I just needed to speak with my father and Professor Black about something and was wondering where they might be." Harry said pointedly.

"I also needed to speak to my father and Professor Lupin. We were trying to decide if we should wait until after dinner to speak with them." Draco told the professor.

"Indeed. Is it rather important?" Snape asked raising one of his eyebrows in question.

"Quite." the boys said together.

"Hmm... Then perhaps we should see if we can locate the professor's for you. Let's try Professor Malfoy's office first." Severus said beginning to lead the boys to the dungeons. The five of them had already decided to meet down there after classes that day. He had been headed there himself after cleaning up his classroom and preparing for the next day's classes.

When Severus, Harry, and Draco reached the dungeon office they found the other 4 professors sitting around talking quietly. The professors seemed surprised to the two boys with Severus. They were quickly ushered in, the door shut and silencing and locking charms put into place.

"Alright boys, what seems to be the problem?" Severus asked once everyone was sitting. Draco looked at Harry and nodded so he would start speaking.

"I got a letter from Cassie this morning. You apparently did not tell her not to use my real name because she did. She also signed her full name to the letter." Harry started. The professors gave each other a look. This did not seem like a big deal to them.

"The letter disappeared after lunch. I looked all through my bag when we went to the library after Muggle Studies and I couldn't find it. I asked Draco to come with me to locate the book that had been assigned to us to read. I wanted to tell him what was going on. We discussed it for a few minutes and then went back to our seats. When we returned I went back through my bag as he suggested and found the letter. We left shortly after that and that is when you found us." Harry finished looking at Severus.

"There is one thing he failed to mention." Draco spoke up before anyone could say anything. "Blaise was sitting next to him at lunch and in the library. He also saw Harry putting the letter away at breakfast this morning. He seemed rather interested in it this morning."

The professors looked at each other and each let out a small sigh. They were all afraid something like this might happen. They all knew, in fact, that it was inevitable, they were just hopping it wouldn't happen so quickly. Severus finally broke the heavy silence that had fallen over the room.

"We will have to wait and see what Mr. Zabini chooses to do with the information. We will keep a closer eye on him and if he says anything to either of you let us know about it immediately." The two boys nodded and everyone left for dinner.

The rest of the week passed without incident and the boys enjoyed their classes so much that they nearly forgot what happened earlier in the week. That is until Saturday afternoon. Harry and Draco had managed to get some time away from the rest of their friends and were sitting outside by the lake talking about their first week of classes and finishing up some of their homework when one of the brown school owls landed in front of Harry. He quickly removed the note tied to its leg and watched as it took flight and headed back to the owlery. He opened the note and quickly scanned it before handing it to Draco. It was short and to the point.

_Harry,_

_Meet me tonight at the Astronomy tower just after lights out. Please come alone._

_BZ_

Draco handed the note back to Harry as he spoke. "We need to go find my dad. He needs to know about this." Draco nodded. Both boys grabbed their belongings and headed for the Transfiguration classroom hoping James would be there. Luckily he was and Harry showed him the note.

James quickly scanned the note and then put locking and silencing charms so he could speak freely. "I want you to go ahead and meet with him. I will be with you. However, I will be concealed under an invisibility cloak so he will think you are alone. I want to know what he is up to." The boys nodded and left for dinner slightly apprehensive about the meeting that night.

When the time rolled around for Harry to meet with Blaise that night he was ready but extremely nervous. He slipped the invisibility cloak his father had given him around himself before making his way to the Astronomy tower. When he reached the tower he slipped the cloak off and saw James stepping out of the shadows.

"He's already up there. Open the door so I can go in first. I'll stand to the side then so I can follow you up." Harry nodded and opened the door once James had concealed himself under the cloak.

Harry quickly reached the top of the stairs and saw Blaise looking out of one of the windows. He turned when he heard Harry approaching. He flashed Harry a quick smile before speaking.

"Harry, I'm glad you came." Harry interrupted before Blaise could go any farther.

"What do you want from me Blaise?" Harry asked impatiently.

"I just want to know if my suspicions are correct. Are you really Cale Snape?" Harry just numbly nodded his head. He didn't know what else to do. "So then your dad would actually be James Snape?"

"Yes, Blaise, I am. What I want to know is what you plan to do with this information?" James said as he stepped out of the shadows and removed the invisibility cloak. Blaise paled considerably when he saw James standing before him.

"Nothing, sir. I swear, I won't tell anyone else about this. I just thought it would be nice to have someone to talk to who knew what it was like..." Blaise trailed off at the glare he was receiving from James.

"You had better hold to your promise, Mr. Zabini. If I hear one word about this and find out that you told someone else, you will regret it. Now I think it's time we all get to bed." James said leading the boys down the stairs.

The next morning, Minister of Magic, Albus Dumbledore received a letter from one of his grandchildren attending Hogwarts.

_Grandfather,_

_I have recently heard some very interesting news that I thought you might like to know. It appears that our Defense professor, Severus Snape, is married to our Transfiguration professor, James Potter. They have a son currently attending Hogwarts under the name Harry Potter. His true name is Cale Snape. I know how you feel about these types of things._

_I hope this letter finds you in good health._

_Sincerely_,

_Your Grandchild_

Albus put the letter down and quickly walked out of his office. He had plans to make.

A/N: Thank you to everyone that reviewed last chapter. They are greatly appreciated. Look for new update info in my bio. Bye for now.


	7. Wheres Harry?

The Arrangement

Chapter 6- Where's Harry

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the other wonderful characters in the books. They belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.

Time passed quickly at school. Harry continued getting mail from his sister but now all letters were passed through his dad. They weren't going to take any more chances of someone finding out the truth. So far no one else had said anything about who his parents were so he assumed Blaise had kept to his promise.

Harry and Blaise talked quite a bit. It seemed as if they had a lot in common. They had become rather close friends. Draco was still his best friend, of course, but Blaise was his second closest friend. However, there was one thing that Blaise and Harry had in common that Blaise had yet to tell Harry.

Halloween was rapidly approaching and everything in the castle seemed peaceful. However, that peace was not to last for much longer.

A week before Halloween, Harry once again found that he needed to speak with both of his fathers. He casually slipped his dad a note along with his Transfiguration homework. That evening when he went to meet with his fathers he was accompanied by Draco, as usual. When he stepped into his father's office, he was unsurprised to see that Lucius, Remus, and Sirius were also there. Anytime something important came up, they all met together.

"Alright Harry, what's wrong?" James said once the boys had taken a seat and the usual locking and silencing charms had been placed.

"I know this may sound childish but I ask that you just hear me out." Everyone just nodded and Harry continued. "I've been having strange dreams lately. It's always the same thing. I'm in a dark room with a small cot and nothing else. There's someone talking to me though I can't really make out what they're saying. I can't see them either. I do get the feeling though that they are saying something about you two. I think it's something along the lines of how you shouldn't be married." Harry finished looking at both of his fathers.

"How long have you been having these dreams?" Severus asked.

"About three weeks now, I think." Everyone sat quietly for a few moments.

"I think you're just worried about someone else finding out about all of this. I don't think you should worry too much about the dreams. As far as we can tell Mr. Zabini has kept to his word." James said trying to calm his son down. Harry just nodded, though he felt deep down that something was going to happen, and he and Draco left.

When the boys were gone, Severus turned to his husband. "Do you really think there is nothing to worry about?"

"I'm not sure, but there really is nothing we can do except keep an eye on him." James replied to his husbands question.

The night of the Halloween feast finally arrived. The students were being rather loud and rambunctious as they celebrated the holiday. Draco, Evan, and Blaise were sitting at the Gryffindor table as had become their custom since that first day. It was extremely rare that they ate at the Slytherin table these days.

Draco was sitting next to Harry with Hermione on Draco's other side. Across the table were Ron, Evan, and Blaise. On Harry's other side was Percy Weasley, one of Ron and Evan's older brothers.

Halfway through the feast Harry began to feel slightly nauseous. He paled quite a bit and began to get a bit shaky. Draco noticed this and urged him to go lay down.

"I think you're right Dray. I will go back to my dorm and lay down. Tell Ron and Hermione I'll see them in the tower." Draco nodded and watched as Harry started to stand. He swayed slightly before a hand was placed on his shoulder to help support him. Draco looked over to see Percy looking at Harry with some concern.

"Harry. I'm done eating. Why don't I help you up to the tower? Maybe I should just take you to the infirmary instead?" Percy said as Harry swayed again.

"No, I think I'll be fine if I just go lay in my own bed. Thank you for helping me, Percy." Harry said as Percy began to lead him out of the hall toward Gryffindor Tower.

Draco looked back up toward the head table and saw that Lucius, Severus, and James were also watching Harry's departure. Lucius looked back to the table and locked eyes with Draco. He made a slight motion with his head indicating that Draco should come to the head table. Draco excused himself from the table to tell his father what had happened.

As Harry and Percy made their way toward Gryffindor Tower, Harry began to lean more and more heavily on Percy. Harry was feeling weaker by the minute. By the time they had reached the end of the 3rd floor corridor Percy was practically carrying him. He faintly saw two figures step out of the shadows before he completely passed out.

Percy greeted the two figures that stepped out of the shadows. "Flint, Montague, what exactly is going to happen to him?"

"Don't worry Weasley. He'll be fine. He's just going to go visit a friend of ours. Now remember tell no one of this, especially Professors' Malfoy, Snape, and Potter. By the way, nice job on that curse. No one even saw you do it." Percy just nodded and walked away leaving his young charge with the older Slytherins.

"Lets get this over with Marcus. I don't want to get caught by anyone who might come looking for him." Montague said turning to the up till now silent boy next to him who just gave a nod. He placed something in Harry's hands, muttered a couple of words and Harry's prone figure disappeared. The boys quickly made their way back to the Slytherin dorms.

Meanwhile, back in the Great Hall, James and Severus were quickly conversing after Lucius had passed on what Draco had told him. "I think we should go up and check on him after the feast. Make sure he's okay and doesn't need to go to the infirmary." James said. Severus nodded his agreement.

As soon as dinner was over, the two professors headed straight for Gryffindor Tower. When they reached it, Severus gave the portrait of the Fat Lady the password and they went in. Severus led the way to the first year dorms. It was very quiet and dark when they entered. Severus lit the lamps and led the way over to Harry's bed. He pulled back the bed hangings which had been closed. Both men stared at the empty bed, one thought going thru both of their minds. "Where is Harry?"

Severus turned to look at his husband. "Who did Draco say had helped Harry back here?"

"Percy Weasley, I believe. He's the 6th year prefect. I think we need to go speak with Mr. Weasley." Severus led the way out of the first year dorms and down to the fifth year. They knocked on the door and waited for someone to open it. After about a minute the door was opened by Percy Weasley.

"Hello Professors. Can I help you with something?"

"I certainly hope so, Mr. Weasley. We were told that you escorted Mr. Potter back to his dorm. We just went to check on him, but he isn't there. Do you know where he might be?" James asked gazing intently at the young man before him.

"I brought him straight back up here to his dorm. He was looking rather pale, perhaps he decided to go to the infirmary after all?" Percy said, never once looking either of the professors straight in the eye.

"Perhaps. Thank you for your time, Mr. Weasley." Severus said, leading the way back down the stairs.

"I don't trust him, Sev. He wouldn't meet our eyes. I think there is something else going on here." Severus nodded his agreement. They had reached the common room by this time.

"Professors, how's Harry doing?" Ron and Hermione had come up to them as soon as they had seen them enter the common room.

"We just went to check on him but he wasn't in his room. We were just on our way to check the infirmary." James told them.

"We stopped by there on our way up here to see if Percy had taken him there, but there was no one there." Ron said looking nervously at the professors. Severus and James exchanged a quick glance before speaking again.

"Come with us. We are going to go see the headmaster." Severus said as James led the way out of the common room.

Harry stirred a little and gave a slight groan. He no longer felt sick, but something still didn't feel right. He opened his eyes only to find that he couldn't see anything due to it being totally dark. He felt around him to try and get his bearings only to realize with a start that he was in the room from his dreams.

'Maybe this is just another one of my dreams.' he thought absently. Just then a noise on his right caught his attention. Suddenly light flooded his small cell. It wasn't much but it was still enough to momentarily blind him.

"I see you finally decided to wake up. It's about bloody time too. I was beginning to think you were going to sleep all day." Someone sneered at him. Harry could not see the person due to the door still being closed. There was something like an air vent on the door that the person was talking thru.

"Who are you? Why won't you show me your face?" Harry demanded in as calm a voice as he could. Whoever was on the other side of the door just laughed.

"You wish to know who I am? Perhaps in time you will find out, but now is not the time. I'm sure you're hungry. Would you like for me to send for some food?" Harry refused to say anything though he did feel slightly hungry. "Have it your way then. Just so you know though, I mean you no harm. You have nothing to fear from me. I only wish to teach your fathers a lesson. I will be back in a few hours to check on you. I will bring you some food then." With that the air vent was closed and Harry was once again left in darkness.

Draco, Evan, and Blaise had just sat down in the Slytherin Common room, when the magnified voice of the headmaster echoed through the dungeons.

"I need all teachers, the Head boy and girl, and all prefects in the entrance hall immediately. Also, the following students: Draco Malfoy, Evan Weasley, and Blaise Zabini."

The three boys shot looks at each other before quickly making their way back to the entrance hall. Draco was very worried. Had something happened to his father or godfathers? He breathed a quick sigh of relief when he saw all five standing in the entrance hall but quickly became worried again when he saw James and Severus' worried and drawn expressions. That was when he spotted Ron and Hermione standing off to the side looking equally worried.

"Oh gods, please tell me something hasn't happened to Harry." Draco nearly yelled, running up to James. James and Lucius turned to look at him while the others turned to hide the pain in their eyes and faces.

Lucius quickly drew his son to him before speaking. "Let the headmaster speak and then we will explain." Draco just numbly nodded. No one had noticed Blaise go extremely pale and start shaking.

"We have a first year student that appears to have gone missing. Young Mr. Potter had started to feel ill during the feast tonight and was escorted back to his dormitory by Percy Weasley. When the feast was over his father and his head of house went to check on him. He was not in his room. They questioned Mr. Weasley and he assured them that he had brought Harry back to Gryffindor Tower. The professors were about to go check the infirmary when they were approached by the younger Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. They informed the professors they had just come from the infirmary and Harry was not there."

"I need all the prefects to split into groups of two and start searching the castle. Head boy and girl as well. If you find him one of you is to take him immediately to the infirmary while the other is to find a professor. They will also be searching for him. Dismissed." Everyone began to move off with the exception of Professors Black, Lupin, Malfoy, Snape, and Potter. Also the five younger students were still standing there wondering what they could possibly do. Lucius finally looked at them. He could tell his son was close to tears because he was worried about his friend.

"Ron, Evan, Hermione, I want you three to start checking any place you think Harry might have gone to be alone. Also, you need to stay together." The three young people nodded before running off. Lucius turned back to Draco.

"Do you have your map with you?" Draco nodded. "Good, activate it and see if you can find him on there. We need to speak with Blaise for a moment and then we will let the two of you go look." Again Draco just nodded. He didn't trust his voice at the moment.

The five professors turned to see a silently shaking Blaise Zabini standing before them. There was fear and worry plainly etched on his face. James was the first to speak.

"Mr. Zabini, I certainly hope you have not broken your promise to me and my son?"

"I swear I wouldn't do that professor." Blaise exclaimed firmly.

"And why is that Mr. Zabini? Why should we believe you?" Severus asked icily.

"B-B-Because I know what it's like." He turned to look straight into James eyes. "Do you remember when we met in the Astronomy Tower?" James nodded. "Do you remember me saying something about having someone to talk to who knew what it was like?" Again James nodded. "I never got to finish that statement. I've also never been able to work up the courage to tell Harry this either. I don't have a mother. I had two fathers." Blaise stopped speaking for a moment and took a deep, calming breath.

"Professor Malfoy may remember some of this. I was not born in England, but in France. There they are more tolerable of same sex unions. Anyway, my dad never really recovered from my birth and died when I was still quite young. That is when my father moved us back to England. He still loves my dad a lot and won't even date now. He made sure I knew early on to never speak of my dad unless it was with him." Blaise finished quietly.

Lucius spoke up after a minute. "I do remember Edward moving away to France and then coming back about five years later with Blaise. He never spoke of the person that had carried Blaise so I just assumed it was a woman that had left him for some reason. I never knew the truth and I apologize for suspecting you Blaise." The other four also gave their apologies, but Blaise just waved them off.

"I would have done the same thing were I in your shoes." he told them.

Draco had been intently listening to the whole conversation while looking over the map to see if he could find his best friend anywhere. Lucius turned towards his son when they had finished speaking only to see a look of deep fear and desperation cross his face.

"Draco?" Lucius spoke softly. Draco turned wide eyes toward his father. Lucius noticed that they were filled with fear and possibly unshed tears.

"He's not there." Draco said in little more than a whisper before looking away from his father and down to the floor.

Lucius stepped over to James and Severus to quietly speak with them. "Why don't you return to your quarters and rest. Take Draco with you. I would also appreciate it if you could slip him a calming draught. He appears to be rather upset about all of this. I don't want him to make himself sick." James and Severus nodded their agreement before approaching the visibly shaking boy. They each wrapped an arm around his shoulders and led him towards the third floor.

Lucius turned back to the others still standing there. "Draco couldn't find him on the map as we suspected. I'm going to take Blaise and start looking anyway. I was wondering if you wanted to go find Tom and tell him our suspicions and see what he wants to do." Remus and Sirius each gave a curt nod and left. Lucius turned to Blaise.

"Come on. Lets start looking for him." 'Though I seriously doubt he is still in this castle.' Lucius thought to himself.

The next time Harry woke, his senses were assaulted with the smell of eggs, bacon, and muffins. He opened his eyes to see a small tray of food sitting on the floor beside his cot. His mouth watered at the smell but he quickly re-thought eating any of it. He couldn't be sure none of it had been tampered with.

He looked at the tray of food longingly and then noticed a glass of pumpkin juice. It didn't register until he saw it just how thirsty he really was. He debated with himself for a few minutes then decided to take just a couple sips of the drink to wet his throat.

When he had done this he lay back down on his cot and stared up at the ceiling of his prison. A few minutes later a strange feeling came over him and he began to drift in a half sleep, half awake state.

It was with a heavy heart that most of the search party went to bed that night. There had been no trace of young Harry Potter found anywhere in the castle. The Headmaster had called off the search once every floor had been searched. The students were all sent back to their dormitories. However, none of the 5 younger students nor the 5 professors got any sleep that night.

When it was late enough in the morning for the students to be out of their dormitories, Draco, Evan, and Blaise immediately went to Lucius' office. While up in Gryffindor territory Ron and Hermione were making their way to Professor Potter's office. When Ron and Hermione reached James' office they saw him and Severus just leaving.

"Professor's!" Hermione called out to them. They turned and smiled at the two as they drew closer.

"What are you two doing up so early? It was pretty late when you were sent back to the tower." Sev asked when the two stopped in front of them.

"We never actually went to bed last night, sir. We were worried about Harry. Have you heard anything new this morning?" Ron asked.

"Unfortunately we haven't. We were just going to see Professor Malfoy to see if he had heard anything, if you would care to join us." James said quietly. His features had taken on a pained and worried look at the mention of his son. The two students silently nodded and followed the professors down to the dungeons.

When they reached the office all four were unsurprised to see Draco, Evan, and Blaise there as well as Sirius and Remus. Draco again looked as if he was on the verge of tears. But to Ron and Hermione's surprise, Blaise also seemed to be ready to cry.

Albus Dumbledore had just finished posting a letter to the Snape's when he was alerted that the boy had finally woke up. He swiftly made his way to where the boy was being kept and cautiously opened the air vent in the door. He looked at the tray of food that sat on the floor near the boys cot. It didn't appear as if he has touched any of it. He took another look at the boy and saw that his eyes appeared to be half closed and he had a dazed look on his face.

"Mr. Snape, can you hear me?" Dumbledore questioned quietly. He heard a slight moan in response. "You really should eat something. I really mean you no harm and there is nothing in your food to cause you any harm." He got no response this time so he snapped his fingers and the tray disappeared. He closed the air vent again and went back to his office. He would try to talk to the boy again at lunch time.

Lily Evans was sitting at the desk in her office in the back of the library. She had just recently taken over for Madam Pince, who decided she really didn't want to deal with children anymore. She was glad for the job because it gave her a chance to keep an eye on her old crush, James Potter.

Lily sat back in her chair to look over the letter she was writing to her old Professor and friend, Minerva McGonagall. Minerva had left the school when her husband, Albus Dumbledore, had been appointed Minister of Magic.

_Dear Min,_

_How are you doing? Hope you and Albus are well._

_I'm back at Hogwarts as the librarian. Madam Pince decided to retire and Headmaster Riddle offered me the position. James Potter, Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, and Lucius Malfoy are back this year as well, but you probably already knew that._

_I discovered last night that James has a son named Harry. I never even knew he had married. Did you? Harry is in his first year here and seems to have suddenly gone missing last night. I think something strange is going on but I'm not sure what it is. Do you know what might be going on?_

_Well, I need to go for now. I hope to talk to you soon._

_Yours always,_

_Lily_

After looking over the letter one last time to be sure it said everything she needed it to, she rose from her chair to send off the letter. She hoped that Minerva would get back to her quickly.

James and Severus had just sat down for lunch when a brown barn owl flew into the Great Hall. This was highly unusual as most mail came during breakfast. They continued to watch its progress until they realized that it was heading for them. They quickly looked at Remus, Sirius, and the headmaster before James reached out to take the letter off the leg the owl held out. Once relieved of his burden, the bird again took flight, leaving the Great Hall through the same window it had come in. James and Severus shared another look before quickly rising and leaving the hall, using the door behind the head table.

Lucius swept his gaze over the hall. Draco and Blaise were looking in his direction and appeared as if they wanted to approach the head table. Lucius gave a slight shake of his head. He knew that the boys wanted to know what was going on, but they would have to wait and see. They all would.

James and Sev had returned to their quarters when they had left the Great Hall. Only when they were safely there with a locking and silencing charm up did James pull the note out of his pocket and open it. His hands were trembling quite badly so he handed it over to Severus to read aloud.

_James and Severus Snape,_

_If you want to see your son again unharmed, you will do as I say. You must annul this unnatural relationship you are in. I can not believe that you actually went behind my back and married each other, despite everything I did to try and dissuade you._

_Do not worry, no harm shall come to your son, so long as you do as I have said. You have one week to comply._

_A.D._

_Oh yes. Don't bother trying t show this note to anyone else. Only you can read it and if anyone else touches it, it will go up in flames._

The last thing that both James and Severus saw were the others eyes before the shock set in and the darkness of unconsciousness claimed them.

A/N: Wow, 9 ½ pages. Think this is the longest chapter yet. Anyway the real reason I am writing this authors note is to let all of my wonderful readers out there know that until further notice 'The Arrangement' will be on hiatus. Life has once again decided to kick my arse and I have to move back in with my parents who know nothing of the slash world. I will try to update when I can but I don't know when that might be.


	8. Ministry Interferance

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to the wonderful and talented JK Rowling and her publishers. I am merely playing with them.

The Arrangement

Chapter 7-Ministry Interference

Minerva McGonagall was sitting at her desk just finishing up some paperwork before lunch, when a Hogwarts school owl flew in her open window. She quickly took the letter from the owl and shooed it out of her office. She quickly opened and read over the letter that Lily had sent. As soon as she had finished it she went in search of her husband. She knew that Albus had the boy in question in Lily's letter. She also knew why the boy had been abducted.

She found Albus just making his way to where the boy was being kept. When she caught up to him she showed him the letter she had received that morning. He read through the letter and then got a pensive look on his face.

"This just may work in our favor, Minerva. I need to have someone inside Hogwarts keep an eye on the Snape's. At least until the end of the week to see if they comply with my demands. How do you feel about taking some time off and visiting Lily?" Albus asked, looking very pleased.

"That would be wonderful Albus. When would you like for me to leave and what is my reason for being there?" Minerva asked while smiling widely at her husband.

"I would like for you to leave tomorrow morning. Should anyone question why you are there tell them that an old friend sent you a disturbing letter about a missing student and you felt it prudent to investigate." Minerva nodded once to her husband before walking away. Albus continued on to his previous destination. He needed to see if the boy had eaten or drunk anything. It was vital to his plan and he knew that he had to succeed.

Dinner had come and gone with no one seeing any sign of James and Severus. Lucius, Sirius, and Remus had finally decided to go and check on them. When they reached their private quarters, they knocked on the door but received no answer. After a few minutes of silence they let themselves in and stopped at the sight that greeted them. James and Severus were both passed out on the floor, Severus still holding the letter they had received at lunch.

Remus and Lucius quickly revived the two while Sirius went to make some tea and retrieve some calming droughts in case they were needed. Once everyone was settled in a seat with a cup of tea in their hands, Lucius asked the question that Remus and Sirius also wanted answered.

"What happened? What could that letter have possibly said to make the two of you pass out like that?"

James gave a slight sigh before taking a sip of his tea, which was laced with a calming drought, then quietly answered Lucius' question. "Our worst fears were confirmed. Dumbledore has Cale and is demanding that we separate. He says if we comply no harm will come to Cale." Severus, Remus, and Sirius snorted at that last comment while Lucius just looked incredulous.

"No harm will come to him? What does he think he has done by kidnaping him?" Lucius said outraged.

Remus reached out to take the letter that Severus still had in his hand, but a quick word from James stopped him. "Don't touch it, Moony. He has it jinxed to go up in smoke if anyone but Sev or I touch it. He also has placed a spell on it so that we are the only ones who can read it."

"He really is a sick, twisted bastard isn't he?" Sirius snarled. Everyone just nodded their heads in agreement.

"What are we going to do? He only gave James and I a week to comply with his demands. I don't want to think about what might happen to Cale after that time." Severus groaned looking around at everyone.

"I think we need to tell Tom about this. I think he still has some contacts inside the ministry." Lucius replied, standing. The others followed suit and they quickly made their way to the headmasters office.

Albus was once again making his way toward where he was keeping the Snape boy. It was just after dinner time and he wanted to see if the boy had eaten anything. He had eaten about half of his lunch and Albus was hoping that he had eaten at least that much for dinner.

What the boy didn't know was that there was a potion being added into his drink. Albus' whole plan hinged on the boy ingesting the potion. It was not a poison nor would it kill him. It was just something to give him a bit of control over the boy and to allow him to force James and Severus to separate. He had every intention of sending the boy back to Hogwarts in a couple of weeks. He just needed to be sure that the boy understood that two men should not in anyway be in a relationship other than mild friendship.

Albus approached the cupboard where he was keeping the boy and cautiously opened the air vent. He peered inside and from what he could see the boy had barely touched his dinner, let alone his pumpkin juice. Still he knew he needed to try and speak to the boy.

"Mr. Snape, can you hear me?"

"Yes, I can bloody well hear you. You still haven't told me who you are or why I am here." The boy responded angrily. Albus did not react to the anger. He had expected it.

"As for who I am, the time is still not right for me to reveal myself to you. However you do know why you are hear. Your fathers were wrong to get married and have children together. It is unnatural."

"They are not wrong. They love each other very much. What is so unnatural about that?" Cale responded angrily.

"Perhaps in time you will see what I mean. I have other things to attend to. I shall see you in the morning." Once again Dumbledore closed the air vent and left the boy in total darkness.

Once his captor left and Cale was once again left in darkness he let himself relax slightly. He figured that he had been in this small room for nearly 24 hours. He had not seen a bathroom in that whole time and now had a serious problem. He really needed to go but know there was no way he could get out to try and find a bathroom. He began to grope around his small cell and found to his utter dismay and slight relief what appeared to be an old fashioned chamber pot. He quickly relieved himself and moved back to sit on the cot.

As he sat there he allowed his mind to wander back over the events of the past day. His captor had only come around after each of his meals had been served. This worried him greatly because it could meant that there was something in the food or drink.

He didn't remember anything being said between them after lunch but he had been drifting in a half-awake, half-dream state so he couldn't be sure. He thought back to the conversation they had just had. He couldn't believe the audacity of the man! Saying his fathers were wrong in loving each other the way they did.

'He's right you know. It isn't natural for two men to love each other that way. Besides, look where it got you.' a small voice in the back of Cale's mind pointed out snidely. Cale snarled at the voice to 'Shut up' and pushed it away. But the damage was done. A small glimmer of doubt had crept into his mind and would not be going anywhere anytime soon.

The 5 professors quickly reached the gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmasters office. Lucius gave the password 'Slytherins heir' and they quickly made their way up the moving staircase. When they reached the top James knocked on the door and waited for the headmaster to allow them entrance.

"Ah, James and Severus..." He trailed off, his eyes going slightly wider as the other 3 walked into his office. "Lucius, Remus, and Sirius, what can I do for the 5 of you?" He sat back in his chair and waited for someone to speak.

"As you are well aware, Headmaster, James and Severus received a note over lunch. It was from Dumbledore. He has indeed kidnaped Cale and is demanding that James and Sev separate within a week to ensure the boys return. He also stated that no harm would come to Cale as long as James and Sev complied with his demands." Lucius informed the headmaster. Tom looked thoughtful for a moment before standing and moving to his fireplace. He grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire.

"Regulus, I need you to come to my office as soon as you are able." he called into the fire and then moved back to his desk. "Can I offer you gentleman anything to drink?" Everyone just shook their heads no. A few minutes later the fire flared green and a man in dark blue robes stepped out of it. He had long dark brown hair and icy blue eyes.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Regulus." Tom said standing and crossing the room to embrace the new arrival.

"Of course, Tom. I was just finishing dinner when you called." Regulus placed a chaste kiss on his husbands lips.

"As much as I would like to continue this we have some rather important matters to discuss." Tom said heading back to his desk. It was then that Regulus Black-Riddle noticed the other people in the room. He was slightly shocked to see his brother and brother-in-law in the room along with Lucius, Severus, and James.

"What's the matter Tom? What happened?" Regulus asked, taking a seat next to his brother. The headmaster filled his husband in on all that had transpired in the last 24 hours.

"Hmm... I see. That is quite a problem. I will keep an eye on Albus this week and see if I can come up with anything. I think Frank Longbottom might be able to help out as well. Do you still have the letter Albus sent you?" Regulus asked turning to James and Severus.

"It's right here, but he charmed it so that we are the only ones that can read or touch it." Severus said holding up the letter. Regulus looked thoughtful for a moment before speaking again.

"Have you tried any type of copying charm or transferring spell?" Everyone shook their heads in the negative and Regulus pulled out his wand. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try some. The most that will happen is that it will go up in smoke." When the first spell hit it, it did exactly that. The whole thing burst into flames and there weren't even any ashes left.

Cale sighed for what seemed to be the hundredth time. He had been trying for several hours to get to sleep but was having no luck. There was something nagging at the back of his mind but he really wasn't sure what it could be. He was tired of being cooped up in this little room and was sure that if he didn't get out soon he would go mad.

He rolled over again in an attempt to get comfortable but was still having no luck. He finally gave up and sat up on his cot with his back against the wall. He let his mind drift over the time since he had been abducted. He couldn't be sure exactly how long it had been since he was kept constantly in the dark. If he went by the meals he had been given it had only been a day, maybe a day and a half but he didn't really trust the man that had taken him.

He sat there trying to figure a way out of his current situation. He thought he knew what the man wanted. He wanted Cale to agree that what his father's had done was wrong. Cale considered agreeing, not because he truly believed it, but because the man might let him go.

'However if I agree too quickly, then he might not believe that I truly agree with him, which I don't, but I need to convince him otherwise.' He sighed again in frustration at this thought. He was stuck for now, there was absolutely nothing he could do for himself. That thought gave him no comfort.

Classes were just beginning for the day and the headmaster had just begun to sort through his paperwork when a knock sounded through his office. Without taking his eyes from the papers in front of him, he bid whoever it was to enter.

"Headmaster Riddle. It's nice to see you again." a stern voice called out into the silence of the office. Tom looked up his eyes widened slightly. He then stood and extended a hand to the woman that had entered his office.

"Madam Dumbledore, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

"I received a rather interesting and vaguely disturbing letter from a friend of mine that's here at Hogwarts. I was hoping you could alleviate some fears."

"What might that be, Madam?"

"My friend mentioned that one of your students appears to have gone missing. I'm concerned about the fact that I learned about this thru a third party, instead of directly from you. Unless, of course, it's not true." The headmaster stayed silent for a moment contemplating how to answer the woman in front of him. He knew that most likely she knew exactly where young Cale Snape was.

"Unfortunately, that does seem to be the case. However, the student in question has some family down in Hogsmeade. That is the main reason we hadn't contacted the ministry as yet. We're waiting to see if he shows up in Hogsmeade."

"I was under the impression that the student in question is Harry Potter, son of James Potter. Isn't James teaching here this year?"

"James is in fact teaching here this year. However, the family I spoke of in Hogsmeade consists of a younger sibling and his surrogate mother."

"Surrogate mother?" Minerva asked, truly curious.

"Yes, Harry's mother died when he was quite young. Narcissa Malfoy has been acting like a mother to Harry and his younger sister, Cassidy, for quite some time now."

"I see. Something puzzles me though. If his father is here, why not just go to him and see if he could not go see then this weekend?"

"Due to James not only being a professor here but also the Deputy Headmaster, Harry might have felt that by asking something like that and being allowed would make others think he was being shown favoritism. He most likely did not want to put extra pressure on his father. Of course that is just my opinion. I truly have no idea what he might have been thinking."

"Of course, headmaster. I was wondering, would you mind if I spent some time here at the castle? I would like to keep an eye on this situation with the young Potter boy and maybe spend some time with Lily."

"I'm sure we can arrange some quarters for you somewhere." the headmaster said rising to his feet, signaling that the conversation was over. Madam Dumbledore also rose to her feet, once again extending a hand for the headmaster to shake.

"Where might I find Miss Evans?" she asked as she moved towards the door.

The headmaster quickly glanced at the clock on the wall by the door. "She should be in the library right now. If you wish to go and find her, I will try to locate some quarters for you. I will have someone escort you to them after lunch if you wish." Madam Dumbledore merely nodded her head as she made her way out of the office and toward the library.

Lily was just finishing putting away some books when Minerva entered the library. Lily was surprised but quite happy to see her old friend.

"Min, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you my dear girl. Also, to keep an eye on the situation with the Potter boy. Your letter was the first the minister had heard of this situation. Tell me Lily, has anyone, in your opinion, been acting oddly since the boy went missing?"

"Well other than James, Severus Snape and Lucius Malfoy seem a little overly concerned about the boy. And then there's Remus Lupin and Sirius Black, but since they've been friends with James since his own school days, I figure they just know Harry rather well. I don't think anyone else is acting out of place." Lily replied.

'Ha, Snape is going to reveal James and himself for what they really are if he keeps that up.' Minerva thought to herself. "I came to understand from the headmaster that since Harry's mother died when he was rather young that he has taken to Narcissa Malfoy kind of like a surrogate of adoptive mother. That could well explain Lucius' behavior. As for Severus, I have no clue, unless he and James became good friends after leaving school." Minerva informed Lily.

"I kind of doubt that. The rivalry they had in school was nearly infamous. I don't want to cut this visit short, Minerva, but I really do need to get back to work. Do you have someplace to stay while you're here?"

"The headmaster is supposed to be finding me some quarters for the next week." Minerva answered.

"I have a guest room in my quarters. Why don't you just stay with me?" Lily asked a small grin on her face. "It would give us more time to catch up with each other."

"I think that's a wonderful idea Lily. I'll let the headmaster know at lunch." Minerva said before walking out of the library.

Cale rolled over again trying to find a comfortable spot on this cot he was forced to sleep on. He had lost complete track of time since his abduction. It could have only been a couple of days or it may have been a week and a half. As he rolled over again he felt something pressing into his leg. He fished around in his pocket until he pulled out a small object. He couldn't see what it was as the room he was in was pitch black as usual. He ran his hands over it and felt smooth glass inside a frame. With a start he realized that it was his two-way mirror. Without knowing what time it was he decided to activate his mirror and prayed that Draco had his on him.

Draco was sitting mutely in class staring at his book. He was thankful that he was in muggle studies as he could basically just zone out. He knew that Siri would not call on him right now, he was still upset over his best friend having gone missing.

Draco had been carrying his two-way mirror with him at all times in the hopes that Harry had had his on him when he was abducted. Suddenly he heard a whispered 'Draco' and looked around. No one was even looking at him.

"Draco, please be there!" came the soft whisper again. Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out the small mirror. He gasped as he saw Harry's tired face looking back at him.

At the front of the class, Sirius stopped his lecture when he heard Draco's gasp of surprise. He quickly told everyone to read the chapter he was discussing in their books and made his way to the back of the class where Draco was sitting.

"Mr. Malfoy, what seems to be the problem?" he asked as he approached. Draco looked up at him and then back down at something in his hands. When he finally stood beside Draco he saw that it was the two-way mirror and that it was active. He also nearly gave a gasp of surprise when he saw that it was Harry.

"Come with me, Draco." Sirius quickly led them to his office. He closed and locked the door and put up a silencing charm before he turned back to Draco. "Wait here and keep him talking. I'm going to get James." Sirius then walked out of the door on the other side of his office.

Draco turned his attention back to the mirror in his hands. "Harry?" he said tentatively.

"Dray, how long have I been gone? What day of the week is it?" Harry asked fear creeping into his voice.

"You have been gone for almost 3 days. It's Monday. I was in Muggle Studies when you called me. What's going on Cal? Do you know who kidnaped you?" Draco asked not even noticing he had used his best friends real nickname.

"I don't know who has me or where I am Dray. The only thing he has told me is that he is trying to teach my fathers a lesson." Harry said tiredly. At that moment James came into the room followed closely by Sirius. Draco reluctantly handed over the mirror. He wanted to talk to his friend longer but knew that James needed to talk to his son.

"Harry? Oh god, are you alright?" James asked nearly frantic.

"Dad? Am I ever glad to see you. Listen, I don't know who kidnaped me and I don't know when he'll be back, so I don't know how long I can talk. He really hasn't told me anything other than he wants to teach you and father a lesson. I don't even know what he meant by that." Harry stopped for a moment to take a breath.

"Cale, listen to me. We know who has you and we are just trying to figure out where he has you. We have someone trying to find you even as we speak. You'll e back with us soon, okay?" James saw Cale nod his head. "Have you at least been able to get some food?"

"He's been giving me food but I have been eating as little of it as possible. I don't know what he might have put in it. He said no harm would come to me but I don't know how much I can trust him."

"I know son. I honestly believe though, that he means you no harm. It's your father and I he has a problem with. Eat what you want, but stay on your guard." Cale nodded and then James saw him grow scared and glance around.

"Listen, I think someone is coming. I better go. I'll talk to you again as soon as I can." Cale's face disappeared from the mirror and James gave a sigh. He turned back to Draco and handed back the mirror and quickly left to alert Severus and the headmaster that they had heard from Cale.

Albus Dumbledore had decided to go check on his young charge. As he approached he heard a murmuring coming from inside the small room. He cautiously approached so to not alert the boy to his presence. He could not make out what was being said but could tell that there was more than one person speaking.

'I'm going to have to step up my plans for the boy. He's somehow managed to contact his family.' Albus thought to himself walking away from the room and heading for his office. He needed to obtain more potion to put in the boys juice. For that he would need to contact his potions maker, Frank Longbottom.

Tom Riddle was once again sitting at his desk in his office after lunch. Madam Dumbledore had informed him that she would be staying with Lily while she was at Hogwarts. That was somewhat of a relief as he hadn't really found any quarters for the older witch.

He was brought out of his musings by a tap at his window. He went over to open it to allow in the owl that had arrived. He quickly retrieved the letter that the owl had on it's leg, wondering who it could be from as he wasn't expecting any mail. He opened it and began to quickly read thru it.

_Headmaster Riddle,_

_Regulus has informed me of the situation concerning young Mr. Potter. I am trying to locate where Dumbledore may be keeping the boy. However, that is not the reason I am writing to you._

_I was contacted earlier today by Dumbledore. As I'm sure you know, I am a potions master and therefore make most of the potions used by the Ministry. He has asked that I make a type of brainwashing potion though he didn't specify why he wanted them. I fear he may be using it on the boy. If I hear anything I will contact you as soon as possible._

_Frank Longbottom_

Headmaster Riddle frowned after reading this. He was unsure of wether or not to inform James and Severus of what he had learned. He decided he would wait before upsetting James or Severus anymore. After all, Frank had said he wasn't sure what the potion was being used for.

Cale lay on the cot in his cell, as he had come to think of it, after dinner that night thinking aloud to himself. He was having problems deciding if his fathers had been wrong in getting married. Then a thought occurred to him.

"If my fathers are wrong for loving each other the way they do then wouldn't the same be true for Uncle Remmy and Uncle Siri as well? They feel the same way my dad and father do. Why does it feel wrong for my fathers to feel that way, but not Uncle Remmy and Uncle Siri?" He gave a slight groan. "This is so confusing."

Albus Dumbledore sat in his office chuckling to himself. After he had discovered that the Snape boy had a way of contacting his family he had cast a charm that allowed him to hear anything that was said in the cupboard no matter where he was. He was glad to see that his plan was working even though it was slow work. The boy was stubborn, that was for sure.

He was glad now that he had set that charm up, for it had given him information he could use in the future. He would not do anything with the information right now, he liked the being confused about everything. It gave him a slight advantage at this point. He had no doubt's that once the boy was returned to his parents that they would work to undo the brainwashing he had put the boy through, but that was of no consequence at this point. He was pleased at the moment with just causing a little mayhem for the family. He knew eventually though that the problem would have to be taken care of permanently.

A/N: I want to apologize for the long wait on this chapter. Some people were just being absolutely impossible to write for. I think this is my longest chapter yet. Hopefully it will tide you over till I can get the next one written, whenever that will be.


	9. Harry Returns

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters. They all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.**

**The Arrangement**

Chapter 8-Harry Returns

It had been three days since Harry had contacted his family. They had been glad to hear from him but were now worried since he hadn't tried to contact them again. They were afraid that Dumbledore had somehow found out and done something to him. They had refrained from trying to contact Cale themselves for the same reason.

James and Severus were on their way to the headmaster's office to see if he had heard anymore on Harry's whereabouts. They met up with Lucius, Sirius, and Remus along the way. The two had been leaning heavily on their friends since their son's disappearance and were extremely grateful for the support that had been shown to them.

When they reached the headmaster's office, Tom appeared as if he was just leaving. He smiled at all of them and bid them enter. They all took a seat and looked at the headmaster, who was still smiling at all of them.

"I take it by the look on your face that you have some good news, Tom?" Lucius questioned.

"In a manner of speaking. I was actually just headed out to summon all of you. Now to business. I do have good news of a sort, but I also have some bad news." He paused for a moment when James and Severus shared a worried look.

"Now to the first part of my good news. Regulus has been able to locate where Dumbledore is holding Cale." At this, the other five breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived.

"If that is the good news Tom, then what is the bad?" James asked once again going on his guard. He wouldn't be able to bare it if his son had been hurt in some way.

"While Regulus has found where Cale is, it is rather close to Dumbledore's office and a rescue mission will be impossible while Dumbledore is in his office." At this, the men groaned. Tom held his hand up to regain their attention and silence them. "This is where the other part of my good news comes in though. Regulus has informed me that Dumbledore will be out of the Ministry all day Friday. Regulus plans to get the boy then and bring him straight back here." James and Severus hugged each other, nearly crying in relief while the other three cheered. Tom allowed this to continue for a few minutes before regaining their attention.

"I know that you are all greatly relieved at this news, but I must remind you that we don't know what condition Cale will be in when he arrives here. We do not know if Dumbledore has done anything to harm him." While this did not stop the cheering, it did sober the men slightly. Only one person in the room noticed a look pass over the headmasters face while the five men prepared to make their leave. He was the only one in the room that would be able to read the expression as well.

"Luc, are you coming?" James asked as he stopped at the door noticing Lucius wasn't with them. He was still standing by the chair he had been sitting in.

"No, I need to stay and speak to the headmaster for a moment. I'll meet you all down in my office in a few minutes." Lucius shook his head answering James' question. James gave a short nod before leaving and closing the door behind him.

"Tom, there is something else, isn't there?" The headmaster let out a long sigh and nodded his head. "What is it Tom? What didn't you want to tell James and Sev?"

"I got a letter the other day from Frank Longbottom. He makes all the potions for the Ministry. He's not sure why, but Dumbledore has been asking him to make a brainwashing potion for him. He suspects it's being used on Cale, but he's not 100 positive."

"Oh, lord. No wonder you didn't tell James and Sev. What do you think he's been trying to do?"

"Seeing as it's a brainwashing type of potion, he is most likely trying to turn Cale against his parents. We all know how the Minister feels about same sex unions. Since he somehow found out about James and Severus, he will do anything in his power to destroy them or their relationship. I am afraid that by the time we get to Cale, it will be too late and Dumbledore will have already corrupted him. Do you know of any counter-agents to the potion?"

"I don't know of any right off, but I will start researching it immediately. Did Frank tell you what the exact potion was?"

"No he didn't, but I'm sure it won't be hard to find out. I will let you know when I do. He might even be able to make a counter for it, if he hasn't already."

"Is there anything else you didn't tell them, Tom? Is there anything else I should know?" Lucius answered wearily.

"No, that was the only thing. I only ask that you do not tell James and Severus what I told you. We'll tell them later if need be, but I don't want to worry them unduly." Lucius gave one firm nod of his head and then left the headmaster's office.

Cale sighed looking up at the ceiling of his prison cell, as he had come to call it. He was arguing with himself again about his parent's situation. What he didn't realize as he started muttering to himself, as he tried to reason out the problem, was that Dumbledore had placed a listening charm on the door the last time he had been there.

"Ok, part of me thinks that dad and father are wrong, but the other part of me knows that they love each other very much. Why shouldn't they be together if they love each other? Uncle Remus and Uncle Sirius love each other and there is nothing wrong with that. Why should it be any different for my parents? This is so confusing."

Dumbledore was in his office when he heard the boy start muttering to himself. He amplified the charm a bit so that he could hear clearly what the boy was saying. An evil grin spread across his face as he heard exactly what the boy was saying. It seemed that the potion was working, at least to a point. His grin grew even broader when he heard the boy mention Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. That would be another couple that he would have to break apart and he had an idea of just how to do that.

He had just begun to write out those plans when an owl tapping on the window to his office distracted him. He got up to retrieve the letter and sat back down at his desk to read it.

_Dear Albus,_

_I am staying with Lily while I'm here at Hogwarts. I would not be writing to you but I found out an interesting piece of news I thought you would like to know about._

_Upon my arrival here at Hogwarts, I went directly to see Headmaster Riddle to ask him about the situation with the Potter boy. He told me the reason he had not contacted the ministry yet was because he was waiting to see if the boy turned up in Hogsmeade. Apparently, the boy has a younger sister staying there with Narcissa Malfoy. The headmaster said that the boy looked up to Narcissa as a kind of surrogate mother. Now, I don't know if he actually does see Mrs. Malfoy this way or not, but he does have a younger sister. I don't know if this will help you or not._

_I'll see you in a few days._

_Minerva_

'Another child? Honestly, those men have no sense of propriety. I can't believe that there is another child from that unholy union. I've really got my work cut out for me.' Dumbledore's good mood vanished with the arrival of that letter. He couldn't believe the audacity of those four men. He would have to figure out some way of getting the men imprisoned and making the children wards of the ministry to ensure that the cycle was not repeated.

He would love to make same sex unions illegal like they had done in the Muggle world. He had even tried in the past, but public opinion was against it. He would have to find some other way to get the wizarding world under his control.

Cale was once again tossing and turning. He was beginning to think he was never going to get out of his 'prison' and desperately needed to talk to someone. He pulled out his mirror and was about to activate it then stopped.

'I don't think I could talk to Dad or Father right now. I'm just so confused about what to do. Who should I talk to? I don't really want to talk to Uncle Sirius or Uncle Remus either. Draco's the only other one that has a mirror, but I don't think he would understand. Besides I'm not even sure what time it is. I really need to speak to someone though. I guess it has to be Draco.' With that thought, Cale activated his mirror.

Draco was just preparing to climb into bed for the night when he heard a whispered 'Draco' come from the mirror on his bedside table. He quickly grabbed it, hopped onto his bed and pulled the hangings closed.

"Draco, are you there?" was again whispered. Draco quickly put the mirror up to eye level so Cale could see his reflection. "Oh thank gods, I really needed someone to talk to right now."

"What's going on Cale? Why are you so upset?" Draco asked upon seeing the look on his best friends face.

"I'm just so confused Dray. The old man that kidnapped me is saying that my parents are wrong for loving each other and part of me can understand what he's talking about. I mean, look at what happened to me. If my parents had never gotten married this would have never happened to me. Then part of me knows that they really love each other and nothing should stand in the way of that. I just don't know what to do or think."

"What do you mean Cale? How could you possibly be confused about your parents? If they had never fallen in love then they never would have had you."

"Right now that doesn't seem like such a bad thing. I haven't seen the light of day in a week, I've been cooped up in this little bitty room that no human should ever be forced to stay in, and I'm beginning to think that I'm never going to get out of here. What would you think if you were in my shoes Dray?"

"I don't know Cale. But think about this. If your parents are wrong for loving each other and getting married then what about Remus and Sirius. Are they wrong as well?"

"That's part of what is confusing me so much. I have no doubts about Uncle Sirius and Uncle Remus, but I do about my own parents. I think I'm going crazy Dray. I need to get out of here and soon."

"I know Cal. I'm sure the Headmaster and your fathers are working on something. It won't be much longer and you will be back with us. Just keeping reminding yourself how much all of us love you. I miss you so much I'm even falling behind on my schoolwork. Blaise feels really guilty about all of this. He thinks it's his fault."

"Well, it is isn't it? He was the only other one that knew about my dads outside of the family. He had to of told someone."

"No, Cale, you're wrong about that. He didn't say anything to anyone, but I'll let him tell you why when you come back to us."

"Actually Draco, I would like to speak to Harry now if it's alright with you." Blaise said quietly, slipping inside of Draco's bed hangings. Draco whipped his head around to stare at Blaise. "I didn't mean to scare you. Don't worry, no one is in here but you and me. I was lying on my bed when I heard Harry's voice. I think I might be able to help Harry with his problem, if he'll let me?"

"Is that alright with you, Cale? Will you talk to Blaise?"

"I guess I can. Maybe he can help me sort out my problem."

"Thank you." Blaise said quietly, slipping onto Draco's to sit next to him so he could still hear the conversation. Draco handed the mirror to Blaise, then lay back on his bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Before anything else is said, I want you tell me that you weren't the one that told the old man about my parents." Cale said coolly, staring intently at Blaise's reflection in his mirror.

"I swear to you on my dad's grave that I told no one about your parent's, Harry." Blaise responded solemnly. "There's a reason I never told or will ever tell anyone about your secret." Blaise paused for a minute.

"What would that reason be, Blaise?" Cale asked, somewhat suspiciously.

"Because I had two fathers as well. My dad before we left France. That's why my father moved back to England. He couldn't stand to stay in France without my dad."

"Oh." Cale responded quietly. He couldn't think of anything else to say. "I'm sorry I ever suspected you. Can you forgive me?" He asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence. He saw Blaise give a nod of his head and gave a small smile.

"Now as far as you being confused about wither or not your parents should be together, you said that the man that has you is the one that was saying that, right?"

"Well, yeah, but it makes a weird sort of sense to me. I don't understand it at all. It's not something that I have ever really questioned before now."

"Why did you never question it before now? Is there any particular reason you are questioning it now?" Blaise asked seriously, trying to get Cale to really think about what was going on.

"I never thought about it before because I knew my parents really loved each other."

"Do you think any of that has changed in the last week? Do you think that they have stopped loving each other?"

"No, I'm sure that would never happen, it's just I get this really funny feeling when ever I think about the two of them being together like that. I get the feeling that it's wrong and unnatural. I just don't understand it." Cale said in frustration.

"Do you feel the same about two men in general or just your parents?" Blaise asked suspiciously.

"It's just my parent's. I don't feel that way about Uncle Remus or Uncle Sirius and they are married as well. That's what is confusing me so much." Blaise and Draco shared a worried at this response. Something was definitely not right here.

"Okay, Harry, I want you to keep talking to me. I need Draco to go do something for me though, so it's going to be just you and me for a couple of minutes. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever. Oh, and you might as well call me by my given name, since you know the truth. It's Cale." Cale responded, still sounding very frustrated. Blaise turned to Draco for a moment.

"I need you to get your father and bring him down here. He maybe able to tell us what is going on with Cale. He might also know when someone is going to try to bring him home." Blaise told him quietly. Draco merely nodded before leaving the room.

Draco immediately headed for his father's office. He was surprised to see the other four professors there at this time of the night. He was startled out of his thoughts by his father's voice.

"Draco, what are you doing here? You should be in bed."

"Yes sir, I know that, but Blaise and I needed to speak to you about something."

"Where is Mr. Zabini?"

"He's still in the dorm. He was in the middle of something important and couldn't come down here with me."

"Can this wait until tomorrow, Draco?"

"No sir. It's very important that we talk to you tonight. Before you ask, I can't tell you what it's about right now, sir." Draco said shooting a glance at where Sev and James were sitting. Lucius caught the gesture and immediately stood.

"I'll be right back. Hopefully this won't take too long. Have a drink if you wish." Lucius said, following his son out the door and back to the Slytherin dorms. "Is this about Cale?" Lucius asked once they were far enough away from his office.

"Yes sir. He contacted me again tonight and Blaise is talking to him right now. Something is wrong with him though. I better let him explain it." Draco responded as they walked into the first year's dorm.

Lucius merely nodded. He was pretty sure he knew what was wrong with Cale but didn't want to worry his son. Besides the headmaster had asked him not to repeat what he was told. If his suspicions were correct, everyone would find out soon enough anyway.

Draco pulled back his bed hangings to see Blaise curled up at the foot of his bed, arms wrapped around his legs with a sad expression on his face. He startled some when Draco crawled onto the bed with him. He glanced up and saw Lucius standing there and quickly averted his gaze back to the bed.

As soon as Draco left, Blaise turned his attention back to the mirror in his hand. "Are you still with me, Cale?"

"Yeah. What did you have Draco go do?"

"I sent him to get someone that I thought would be better for you to talk to."

"Who?" Cale questioned suspiciously.

"His father."

"What! If I had wanted to talk to an adult I could have talked to one of my fathers or my uncle's." Harry said angrily.

"The reason you didn't call them though was because of what you're confused about."

"That may be true, but I still don't want to talk to Lucius. He's best friends with my parents and he's bound to tell them what I say. I don't want them to know. I love them too much to tell them that I think they were wrong to get married."

"Cal-" Blaise started, but it was too late. The mirror had gone blank. He shook his head before curling up at the end of Draco's bed with a sigh.

"Blaise, what happened? Why aren't you talking to Cale anymore?" Draco questioned softly.

"I'm sorry Draco, Professor. He asked me who I had sent you after and I told him. He absolutely refused to talk to you and cut the connection. He just kept saying how he didn't want his parents to know that he thought they were wrong to get married. He was afraid that anything he said to you, Professor would get back to his parents."

"I understand, Blaise, and it's not your fault. There was nothing you could have done." Lucius reassured quietly. "Can the two of you tell me what all he said though?" Draco and Blaise quickly recounted the whole conversation they had had with Cale.

"If I didn't know any better, Professor, I'd almost say that someone is trying to brainwash Cale." Blaise remarked after they had finished their story.

"Why would you say that, Blaise?" Lucius asked silkily.

"Just some of the things that he was saying. How he was confused, the fact that he thought his parents were wrong for getting married, but not Professors Lupin and Black, or if it was just two men in general. It just sounds like someone is trying to specifically turn him against his parents." Blaise replied.

"I'm afraid you may be right, Mr. Zabini. However, I don't want either you or Draco to worry. We have plans in place that should have Cale back with us by tomorrow night. Should he try to contact you again, you can let him know that. It may help him a little. Did the two of you need anything else this evening?"

"No sir." The two boys chorused.

"Then I want the both of you in bed within the next five minutes." Lucius said walking towards the door. Heard both boys answer in the affirmative and closed the door behind him, rapidly trying to e come up with a reason the boys needed to see him without having to tell James and Sev about Cale.

"So what did the boys need that was so urgent, Luc?" James asked as Lucius walked back into his office.

"They had a question about a paper that is due tomorrow in Potions. I can't believe that they waited until the last minute to do it though. They weren't too happy with me when I got finished telling them how unhappy I was with them." The other four professors laughed and Lucius was relieved to have been able to convince them that it was no more important than a potions assignment.

"Well, I don't know about the four of you, but after having to yell at a couple students, I'm ready to call it a night. I'll see you all in the morning." Lucius said trying to usher the other men out of his office. He wanted a little time alone to think about what Draco and Blaise had told him this evening. He hated to think about the fact that Cale had been brainwashed but he didn't know what else to think about what he had been told. He just hoped that it wouldn't take too long for Cale to return to normal.

Cale was just beginning to wake when his little 'prison' was flooded with light. He squinted his eyes against the brightness and tried to see who was standing in front of him.

"Who's there?" He quietly asked, hoping that it was not the old man that had kidnapped.

"Are you Harry Potter?" An unfamiliar male voice asked.

"Maybe. Why do you want to know?" Cale asked suspiciously.

"I'm here to take you back to Hogwarts and your father's. I'm a friend of Headmaster Riddle's. My name is Frank Longbottom. My son Neville is in your class at Hogwarts." Harry was finally able to focus on the man speaking to him. The man standing in the 'door' to his 'prison' was fairly thin, had brown hair with red highlights in it, and soft hazel eyes. He barely resembled his son at all.

"How do I know your telling the truth?" Cale asked suspiciously.

"I was told you had a way of contacting your father. If it would make you feel better, please do so now. He can confirm my story." Frank said, trying to reassure the young boy in front of him. Cale did just that, but instead of calling for James Potter like Frank had thought he would, he called for Severus Snape.

"Cale? Is that you? Oh, thank the gods. Has Frank gotten there yet?"

"I'm here Sev, but your son doesn't seem to trust me much. Not that I blame him of course, not after everything he's been through." Frank said when he heard Snape's voice.

"Cale, you can trust Frank. He's bringing you back to Hogwarts for us. Please go with him son. Your dad and I miss you very much."

"Alright Father, I will see you soon." Cale said, then cut the connection. "Alright, let's get the bloody hell out of here. I want to go home." Cale said before standing and allowing the man to apparate them to his office. From there they flooed directly to the headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

When James and Severus saw Cale come out of the floo, they quickly engulfed him in a hug. It took them a moment to realize that Cale was not returning the hug. He was merely standing there stiff as a board, as if it was all he could do to tolerate the hug.

When Lucius saw this, he gave the headmaster a worried look before looking back at the family reunion that was taking place in front of him. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard James ask Cale a question.

"Cale, why won't you hug your father or me?"

**A/N:** Another evil cliff-hanger, but this seemed like a good place to end the chapter. Besides everyone already knows what's going on with Cale. Next chapter James and Sev find out and everyone starts to work on de-brainwashing Cale. Hopefully the next chapter won't be so long in coming. I had a break-through on this chapter and hopefully it will continue with the next one.


End file.
